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“Four-room” house plan, Iron Age II. The typical Israelite dwelling was a rectangular or square house of between roughly 500 and 1,200 square feet (50–110 sq m). It is often called a “four-room” or…
Lion-shaped weight, Arad, Iron Age II (ca. 980–586 BCE). A balance scale would use weights to measure goods. Weights were usually dome-shaped, but some were shaped like animals. This well-preserved…
On this clay plaque from Dan, from the Late Bronze (Canaanite) period, a man is playing a lute while dancing. The position of the performer’s legs shows that he is doing a lively dance.
This drawing and the following replica of a pillared house are composites of many excavated houses from the Iron Age, 1200 to 586 BCE; none has been discovered standing. The images show domestic…
The masonry in the royal palace of Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, is considered the finest example of ashlar masonry from the Iron Age. The blocks are cut so well that they fit together…
This limestone model of a shrine, around 8 inches wide, 10 inches long, and 14 inches high (20 cm × 25 cm × 35 cm), was painted red. The façade features a triple-recessed door frame, above which is a…
Steps at the rear of this burial chamber in the St. Étienne cemetery lead up to a second, inner one, with rock-cut, tub-shaped burial places, perhaps intended for important members of the families who…
In this terra-cotta plaque figurine from Tell Beit Mirsim, 6 inches (15 cm) high, the pregnant woman’s arms cradle her belly and her navel and genitalia protrude. Incisions indicate the eyes, the hair…
Terra-cotta pillar figurines are found throughout the biblical territory of Judah and date to the eighth to seventh centuries BCE. Most were decorated with a white background layer and one or more…
In this terra-cotta figurine from Beersheba, 5.5 inches (14 cm) high, the face is made by pinching the clay to draw out the nose, thereby forming the eye sockets. The nose has a beak-like appearance…
