Photo © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem |
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Cultic objects from the “Shrine of the Stelae”
Hazor Late Canaanite period, 15th-13th century BCE Basalt Israel Antiquities Authority |
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A small shrine with a single room was unearthed in Hazor’s lower city. In the wall opposite the entrance, there was a niche containing a row of standing stones (masseboth), with an offering table and a figure carrying a bowl in front. The crescent on the figure’s breast was a symbol of the moon god Sin. The central stone features a pair of hands venerating moon symbols. The stones, as well as the ones found outside the temple, were commemorative, perhaps recalling a king, priest, or ancestors.
The lion relief on the right belongs to an earlier phase of the shrine. |
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