JERSALEM, ISRAEL—Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Michael Hasel of Southern Adventist University have uncovered a temple dated to the twelfth century B.C. in south-central Israel’s Tel Lachish National Park, according to a statement released by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Garfinkel said the Bronze Age temple is similar to Canaanite temples unearthed in northern Israel. The front of the square-shaped temple compound features two columns and two towers leading to a large hall, he explained. The inner area has four supporting columns and several uncarved standing stones. The temple also has several side rooms, he added. Artifacts uncovered at the site include bronze cauldrons, jewelry, daggers, ax heads, scarabs, and a gold-plated bottle inscribed with the name of the Egyptian pharaoh, Ramses II. Two bronze figurines resembling armed “smiting gods” were recovered from the temple’s holiest area, Garfinkel added. The team also found a piece of pottery engraved with Canaanite script at the site. To read about the end of Egypt's colonization of Canaan, go to "Egypt's Last Redoubt in Canaan."
