>Archaeologists excavating at Tel Qashish have discovered the remains of a 3,500-year-old Canaanite temple. At the site archaeologists also found more than 200 items used in the temple.

The fallowing report about the discovery was published by Discover News:

Israeli archeologists have found a large cache of intact pagan vessels piled one atop the other in a natural hollow of bedrock in Tel Qashish, southeast of Haifa.

Used by the ancient Canaanite people in a pagan cult that worshiped idols, the 3,500-year-old vessels belonged to a previously undiscovered temple.

Most likely, the priests buried the temple’s furniture in order to protect the items from destruction during an incursion of the ancient Egyptians.

Indeed, at the end of the Late Bronze Age (the Canaanite period), the region was vanquished, including Tel Qashish, which was destroyed by a fierce conflagration.

Discovery News has provided an excellent slide show which is narrated by archeologist Edwin van den Brink, the excavation co-director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Make sure that you visit Discovery News and watch the slide presentation. Click here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Archaeology, Canaanite Temple, Tel Qashish, Edwin van den Brink