Our trip to Megiddo, originally scheduled for today, was post-poned yesterday because of weather, but it was actually fairly mild and sunny. We ended up doing something else instead. There is an exhibit of decorated Philistine cult stands in Tel Aviv that is ending Saturday, so we went to see that instead along with the Philistine Temple at Tel Qasile, which is on the grounds of the Eretz Israel Museum. The stands were interesting: they were broken and deposited in a votive pit and resembled architectural models. Many of them were decorated with trees, women, and bulls - common themes here, in Mesopotamia, and in the Aegean. I gave a brief presentation to the group on Tel Qasile (pictured here) because it has similarities to Canaanite, Minoan, and Mycenaean shrines, which makes it important to my research. You can see that it includes a rectangular hall with 2 worked column bases and also included benches and a platform for the placement of offerings. The temple itself is covered, but associated buildings are uncovered and are eroding away - a problem for architecture everywhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment