Tel Arad is an Iron Age city in the Negev desert. This week’s photo is of the ruins of a major fortress built on the top of the hill to protect Israel’s southeast border and the Negev trade routes.
In the northwestern corner of the citadel, an Israelite temple with three rooms was discovered, made up of an ulam (entrance hall), heichal (main hall), and dvir (holy of holies). Stone altars for incense flanked both sides of the entrance to the dvir. In front of the temple was an altar built of bricks and stone, measuring 2.5 x 2.5 meters, similar to the altar described in Deut. 27:5 and II Chronicles 6:13. This temple was destroyed, apparently as a result of the religious reforms of King Hezekiah at the end of the 8th century BCE.
The technical details – the photo was taken in December with a Nikon point and shoot camera (ISO 100, 8mm, F7.6 at 1/359 sec).
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