JERUSALEM, ISRAEL—Live Science reports that a team of Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists finished uncovering a large city gate dating to the eighth century B.C. at Tel Lachish National Park. Sa’ar Ganor, director of the excavation, explained that the gate into the ancient city had six chambers, three on each side of the main street. One of the rooms contained benches with armrests, jars, scoops for grain, and jar handles stamped with identifying symbols. The jars are thought to have been part of the preparations undertaken by the Kingdom of Judah for war with Assyria in the late eighth century B.C. The shrine in the gate had white-plastered walls, a bench, two four-horned altars, and ceramic lamps, bowls, and stands. The Israel Antiquities Authority said that the horns on the altar had been cut, perhaps due to religious reforms instituted by King Hezekiah to centralize religious activity in Jerusalem. Ganor said that a stone toilet seat found in the shrine may have been placed there as a way to desecrate it and prevent the room from being used for religious ceremonies. Soil samples, however, suggest the latrine was never actually used. To read more about archaeology in Israel, go to "Mask Metamorphosis."
