Summary: A unique 2,800-year-old rock-hewn structure unearthed in East Jerusalem provides evidence of idolatry during the Kingdom of Judah.
Hezekiah destroyed the high places. He broke the memorial stones and cut down the Asherah poles. – 2 Kings 18:4 (ERV)
Rock-Cut Ritual Rooms
Recently archaeologists in Jerusalem uncovered a series of stone-hewn rooms used for cultic rituals nearly 3,000 years ago that had been deliberately filled and sealed shut, leading to remarkable preservation. The complex featured eight separate spaces intricately carved into the rock most likely used for worship practices in the Kingdom of Judah during the First Temple period (c. 1000 to 586 BC).
The structure’s separate rooms contained unique items such as an altar, a sacred standing stone, large V-shaped carvings, and presses for oil and wine. Discovered within the Jerusalem Walls National Park on the eastern slope of the City of David, “this complex offers profound evidence for the diversity of cultic practices in the capital of the Kingdom of Judah,” said excavation director Eli Shukron.
Destroying the “High Places” in Judah
The archaeological site in East Jerusalem is considered to be the city’s ancient settlement core. The northern part of the stone structure had been previously discovered in 1909 by British army officer Montagu Parker, who came to Jerusalem in search of the Ark of the Covenant and other Temple treasures. The site then stood untouched for 100 years.
“When we began excavating the City of David in 2010, we discovered that the site had been sealed with fill from the 8th century BCE, indicating it had fallen out of use during that time,” said Eli Shukron from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) who published the findings in the scientific journal ‘Atiqot.
Shukron speculated that the site may have been filled in during the implementation of religious reforms by King Hezekiah. “According to the Bible, Hezekiah sought to centralize worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, abolishing the ritual sites scattered across the kingdom,” explained Shukron.
“The Bible describes how, during the First Temple period, additional ritual sites operated outside the Temple, and two kings of Judah—Hezekiah and Josiah—implemented reforms to eliminate these sites,” he continued.
This is a refreshing perspective, since many scholars in recent years have erroneously seen evidence of idol worship in Israel and Judah as somehow contrary to the Bible’s narrative. Hezekiah’s crackdown against pagan places of worship, called high places, is described in the second book of Kings which recounts how he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done” (18:3).
Hezekiah destroyed the high places. He broke the memorial stones and cut down the Asherah poles. – 2 Kings 18:4 (ESV)
Sacred Standing Stone
For whatever reason this recently uncovered religious site wasn’t destroyed, just buried beneath dirt, enabling it to survive perfectly intact. The stone structure covers an area of approximately 263 square yards and was situated just a few hundred yards from the Temple. It is the only known ritual structure from this period discovered in Jerusalem and one of the very few found in the land of Israel.
The complex consists of eight rock-hewn rooms, each with different installations. Room 1, located at the center of the complex, opened into all the other rooms and housed a raised platform or altar in the corner with a drainage channel, indicating it was most likely used for animal sacrifice. A small oil press was located in Room 2 and a winepress in Room 3.
“The most important find was revealed in Room 4, comprising the stone massebah [standing stone or sacred pillar] and the platform built around it,” the researchers wrote in the article. “This is what makes this place a cultic site,” said Shukron. “Undoubtedly” the site was used for worship.
The standing stone was found “upright in its original place,” with smaller stones around it, according to the researchers. Remarkably, the sacred stone survived Hezekiah’s reforms without being smashed or broken.
“The standing stone was covered with earth; it was preserved. No one destroyed it,” said Shukron. “When we found it, it was exactly as it was here 2,800 years ago.” He called the stone “the most significant and dramatic find in the excavation.”
Room 5 contained three mysterious V-shaped grooves carved into the stone floor, as well as other shapes engraved on the floor and walls. The grooves are “unique and ambiguous.” They may have been used by worshippers to crush grapes for wine and nuts for oil, according to the article.
“Another possibility is that the V-shaped grooves were used for a loom,” wrote the researchers. They also speculated the floor carvings may have served as a base for a tripod, an installation with three legs used for ritual activities.
A treasure trove of artifacts, dating to the eighth century BC, were found in a small cave carved on the edge of the structure. The collection included clay figurines, cooking pots, loom weights, scarabs, jars bearing ancient Hebrew inscriptions, stamped seals, grinding stones and more.
Hezekiah’s Religious Reform
Hezekiah was Judah’s 13th king who ruled from about 727 to 698 BC. Many are familiar with this famous ruler because of the popularity of Hezekiah’s Tunnel (Siloam Tunnel), which still displays the remarkable craftsmanship used more than 2,700 years ago to carve an underground passage bringing water into the City of David, sustaining it during times of siege.
Hezekiah lived during a Biblical period that is widely accepted to be historical by archaeologists, with many links between archaeology and the Bible. Compelling evidence of King Hezekiah’s efforts to abolish idol worship were discovered at a gate-shrine from the First Temple period uncovered in Lachish.
According to the Bible, city gates were the place where events happened. The city gate unearthed in Lachish consisted of six chambers where elders, judges, governors, kings and officials would conduct business. In the first chamber, benches with armrests were uncovered, as well as artifacts including stamped jar handles bearing the name of an official or lmlk (belonging to the king).
Excavators found steps ascending to a gate-shrine in a large room with a bench for placing offerings. An opening in the corner of the room led to a holy chamber with walls that had once been covered in white plaster. Inside were two altars decorated with raised corners, known as horns, that had been intentionally truncated or cut short to desecrate it.
This discovery seems to be evidence of King Hezekiah’s destruction of cultic high places. Further indications were found in the placement of a toilet in the corner of the room. Considered sacrilegious, this would have been done purposely to soil the religious location and stop people from worshiping there.
An example in the Bible comes from the case of Jehu destroying the cult of Ba’al in Samaria. 2 Kings states: “And they demolished the pillar of Ba’al, and they demolished the house of Ba’al, and made it a latrine to this day” (10:27).
Conclusion
Speaking of the recently unearthed rock-cut complex, Israel’s Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu said: “This unique structure uncovered in the City of David is an exciting testimony to Jerusalem’s rich past. Such discoveries make our connection and historic roots – going back thousands of years – tangible, in Jerusalem and other sites where the Jewish culture and belief system emerged.”
They also add another support for the historical narrative in the Bible being reliable. Keep Thinking!
TOP PHOTO: Artistic reconstruction of the ritual structure in Jerusalem. (credit: Shalom Kveller, City of David)
