The latrine discovered in what may be a shrine at Lachish. Photo: Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Posted on 11/14/2017 7:58:55 PM PST by marshmallow
Hezekiah’s religious reforms sought to centralize worship
A millennia-old latrine discovered at Tel Lachish in Israel might reveal some interesting insights into Biblical history. According to Sa’ar Ganor and Igor Kreimerman, who conducted the excavations on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the latrine could be evidence of King Hezekiah’s religious reforms enacted throughout the Kingdom of Judah in the eighth century B.C.E. The archaeologists detail their discovery in the article “Going to the Bathroom at Lachish” in the November/December 2017 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.
The latrine discovered in what may be a shrine at Lachish. Photo: Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The Hebrew Bible has several references to King Hezekiah’s reforms and attempts to centralize worship in Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles 29–32 describes his efforts during the first year of his reign to cleanse and refurbish the Temple in Jerusalem, believing that his ancestors had not worshipped the God of Israel dutifully. 2 Kings 18:4 narrates that “he removed the high places (bamot), broke down the pillars (masseboth), and cut down the sacred pole (asherah).”
Lachish, located in the foothills of Judah (the Shephelah), was regarded as the second most important city in the Kingdom of Judah after Jerusalem. Spanning more than 18 acres on the tell, the Iron Age city boasted a palace-fort, city wall and six-chambered gate complex—within which, Ganor and Kreimerman argue, may be an Israelite gate-shrine.
(Excerpt) Read more at biblicalarchaeology.org ...
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Holy crapper!
‘18 acres’
I’ve always found it interesting to compare the size of cities from the ancient and classical days to what we consider cities today.
18 acres MIGHT be the size of my subdivision ... though the more I think about it the subdivision is actually larger by quite a bit.
A typical city block is 2.25 acres.
So that 18 acre ancient city would cover 8 of today’s city blocks - 2 blocks x 4 blocks.
It says “Dishwasher safe”.
Already posted.
Holy crap! Gives an older meaning to “sitting on the throne”.
Considering what the masses had for sanitation, I would agree with Mel Brooks, “It’s good to be king”.
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