About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period - Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies - Benedikt Hensel

About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period - Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies - Benedikt Hensel

9. A Monumental Hellenistic-Period Ritual Compound in Upper Idumea: New Findings from Ḥorbat ʿAmuda

About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period - Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies - Benedikt Hensel

Michal Haber [+-]
The Hebrew University
Michal Haber received her MA in Classical Archaeology from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, spending over a decade at the Israel Antiquities Authority. She is currently co-director of the Beit Lehi Regional Project under the auspices of The Hebrew University.
Oren Gutfeld [+-]
The Hebrew University
Oren Gutfeld received his doctorate from the Institute of Archaeology of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, carrying out post-doctoral research at the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. At present, he is director of The Hebrew University’s salvage excavation program and co-director of the Beit Lehi Regional Project.
Pablo Betzer [+-]
Israel Antiquities Authority
Pablo Betzer serves as the Southern District Archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority. He is pursuing doctoral studies at the Institute of Archaeology of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is co-director of the Beit Lehi Regional Project.

Description

Michal Haber, Oren Gutfeld, and Pablo Betzer’s “A Monumental Hellenistic-Period Ritual Compound in Upper Idumea: New Findings from Ḥorbat ʿAmuda,” provides the first preliminary results of a newly discovered site in Idumea that relates to an “Idumean Temple.” In 2017, the Beit Lehi Regional Project was inaugurated following nearly a decade of excavations at the Judean lowland site of Ḥorbat Beit Lehi (Loya). Within the framework of the project’s drone survey – encompassing a total study area of 36 sq km – the remains of a massive structure were detected at Ḥorbat ʿAmuda, lying approximately 4 km south of Maresha. Subsequent excavations at the site have revealed a unique edifice featuring fine ashlar and header-and-stretcher construction and extending over an area of at least 75 × 57 m, divided into different wings that have been assigned a ritual or ceremonial function. Unearthed in one chamber, adjacent to a stone-built podium, was a small votive assemblage comprising several ceramic unguentaria along with two limestone incense burners, the larger of which bears a carved image of a bull standing in the façade of a temple. The authors propose identifying the compound as an administrative and/or cultic center that served the hinterlands of Maresha, first established in the early third century BCE under Ptolemaic rule. Corresponding to the findings from Beit Lehi, located only 1 km to the south, the authors maintain that the site was destroyed over the course of the Hasmonean Revolt of 167–164 BCE and not, as had long been posited regarding other sites in the region – namely Maresha –by John Hyrcanus ca. 113/112 BCE.

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Citation

Haber, Michal; Gutfeld, Oren; Betzer, Pablo . 9. A Monumental Hellenistic-Period Ritual Compound in Upper Idumea: New Findings from Ḥorbat ʿAmuda. About Edom and Idumea in the Persian Period - Recent Research and Approaches from Archaeology, Hebrew Bible Studies and Ancient Near Eastern Studies. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 230-249 May 2022. ISBN 9781800501331. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=42826. Date accessed: 29 Mar 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.42826. May 2022

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