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Canaanite Altar Discovered at Tel Rekhesh

Tel Rekhesh (Tell el-Mukharkhash) is located on the northern side of Nahal Tabor, five miles (8 km) southeast of Mount Tabor. Yohanan Aharoni identified it as biblical Anaharath (Josh 19:19), a city also mentioned in the records of Thutmose III, Amenhotep II, as well as in the Amarna Letters.

From The Jewish Press.com:

An archaeological discovery in the Tel Rechesh excavations at the Tabor River Reserve in northern Israel: a joint archaeological expedition, which included researchers from the University of Tenri, Japan, and the Institute of Archaeology of Galilee Kinneret Academic College, have unearthed a Canaanite cult altar.
The excavations in this area have been going on for six years now.
The same excavations also revealed large parts of a Jewish farmhouse dating back to the Second Temple. Researchers were able to establish that this was a place of Jewish dwellers based on typical stone tools, oil lamps and coins minted in the city of Tiberias.
“The diggers received a big surprise,” said Chairman of the Institute of Archaeology of Galilee Kinneret Academic College Dr. Mordechai Avi’am. “In the ruins of the second floor of the farmhouse, they discovered a Canaanite cult statue, similar to a statue that stood in the sanctuary of a temple which is yet to be located.”

The full story is here. The basis for the report is this press release (Hebrew). The official excavation website is here. Excavations began at the site in 2006.
HT: Joseph Lauer
Tell Rekhesh Pan southeast 1 dd
Tel Rekhesh from northwest. Photo by David Dorsey.
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2 thoughts on “Canaanite Altar Discovered at Tel Rekhesh

  1. Curious…they said in the article that the Canaanite alter stone was later used as a doorframe. Would this be a sign that people who used that for worship were replaced by people who didn't care about the stone for religious purposes?

    (I'm not any sort of expert…just conjecturing).

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