New information about the dig a Khirbet Qeiyafa\’s recent finds was published today. I have to say that–whatever one\’s thoughts on the minimalist v. maximalist debate are–Khirbet Qeiyafa has been a goldmine of information. The written inscription, the facts of its architecture, placement, and time of building, and now this! Taken apart, each of these evidences are interesting, but far from earth shattering, but when placed together they (in my humble opinion) seem to convey a much larger case for a maximalist approach to 9-10th century Palestine.
Of particular interest to myself, were the architectural and decorational elements found on the stone ark. See below, the pictures show what the article notes,
\”The stone shrine is made of soft limestone and painted red. Its façade is decorated by two elements. The first are seven groups of roof-beams, three planks in each. This architectural element, the \”triglyph,\” is known in Greek classical temples, like the Parthenon in Athens. Its appearance at Khirbet Qeiyafa is the earliest known example carved in stone, a landmark in world architecture.\”
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| Photo owned by University of Jerusalem. |
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| Photo owned by Cornell College |
It is interesting to see something so linked to Hellenistic architecture surface in Palestine. Now, I\’m am by no means an expert on classical architecture, but this does continue to make my research revolving around the literary sharing of classical Hellenistic historiography and the works of the biblical Chronicler seem more and more possible.
I recommend that you read the entire article and look forward to rejoinders from Israel Finkelstein and others. In the meantime, feel free to drop by Luke Chandler\’s blog. True to is hipster-self, Luke has been blogging about KQ almost since before it was cool to know about it, has dug at the site several times, and is generally in-the-know about such things.
Ben Neviim 