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Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period
  • Model temple made of stone, found in the Khirbet Qeiyafa excavation. Photo: Gabi Leron. Courtesy of Professor Yossi Garfinkel.
    Model temple made of stone, found in the Khirbet Qeiyafa excavation. Photo: Gabi Leron. Courtesy of Professor Yossi Garfinkel.
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Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period

A Miniature Sanctuary: A “Model Shrine” from Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Lowland

At Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Judean Lowland a small fortified settlement was discovered from the end of the eleventh century and the early tenth century BCE (the time of the kings Saul and David). According to Prof. Yosef Garfinkel, the archaeologist excavating the site, the settlement was a border fortress of the kingdom of David facing the Philistines; however, the dating of the site and the identity of its inhabitants are a matter of debate among scholars.

A large palace was also discovered at the site, apparently of the governor. In one of the settlement’s dwellings a stone-carved object was found, which may have served as a kind of model shrine. The architectural components of this model, such as the doorway with recessed frames, and wooden beams protruding from the roof (rendered in stone like the rest of the model), conform to components of the Temple of Solomon as described in the Bible, which was built a few years later.