The Tel Lachish National Park and the gate structure (left) that was exposed. (Photographic credit: Guy Fitoussi, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority).
Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a 2,900-year-old gate-shrine they say confirms the biblical story of King Hezekiah, who mandated the worship of God and the rejection of all other deities.
The gate-shrine in Tel Lachish National Park was uncovered decades ago, but a new excavation has completely exposed the gate, which is the largest one known from the First Temple period.
“The size of the gate is consistent with the historical and archaeological knowledge we possess, whereby Lachish was a major city and the most important one after Jerusalem,” said excavation director Sa'ar Ganor.
According to the Book of Kings, he said, “the cities gates were the place where ‘everything took place’: the city elders, judges, governors, kings and officials — everyone would sit on benches in the city gate. These benches were found in our excavation.”
The 80x80-foot Lachish city gate is 13 feet tall and consists of six chambers, three on either side of the main street that passed between them. Among the artifacts found in its rooms were benches with armrests, jars, a large number of scoops for loading grain and stamped jar handles that bear the name of the official seal impression. Two of those impressions say “belonging to the king of Hebron.”
The continuation of the building is the gate-shrine, whose steps “ascended to a large room where there was a bench upon which offerings were placed,” Ganor said. “An opening was exposed in the corner of the room that led to the holy of holies; to our great excitement, we found two four-horned altars and scores of ceramic finds consisting of lamps, bowls and stands in this room.
Full read http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/09/28/archaeologists-unearth-ancient-gate-shrine-in-israel.html
