テル・レホブの宗教遺構 -その型式学的意義-

Abstract

During 1997-1998 seasons of excavation in Tel Rehov, Israel, a small religious structure from the time of the United Kingdom (Iron Age IIA) was unearthed. Amihai Mazar, its excavator, has already published a preliminary report, in which he called this structure a “bamah”. However, he has not discussed its nature in detail and the ambiguity of the term “bamah” is well known. Since it is a fascinating structure in understanding the real picture of Israelite religion during the Kingdom period, we attempted to define its nature by setting it in the typological development of the religious structures in ancient Palestine.As a result, we can point out the following significances.1. This structure reflects the religious situation of the beginning of the Iron Age, when the great temples of LB period disappeared almost completely and small local sanctuaries increased. Small sanctuaries within towns closely related to daily activities are especially the hallmark of this period. This may suggest that the establishment of the Israelite State and the building of the central Temple in Jerusalem deprived the independent positions of the great temples of the Canaanite City States.2. This structure will give insights to the variety of the local religious activities during the Israelite Kingdom. The small sanctuaries of this period can be subdivided into ones inside towns, outside towns, and around city gates. The first and the second both have interior and open-air types. The structure of Tel Rehov can be categorized as one inside the town and open-air. Animal sacrifice and community meal seem to have been included in its religious rite. Since most of the sanctuaries inside towns are of interior type, the one in Arad, which is not reported in detail, is the only other example of this type. The sanctuaries at Lachish and Hazor have both cult rooms and open courtyards. However, their open areas do not have any evidence of animal sacrifice, and in this sense they are not exactly the same as the ones in Tel Rehov and Arad. The religious structure found in Tel Rehov, therefore, is a unique example which enables us to clarify the full picture of th e local religious activities held in the open courtyard during the Iron Age.