A Moabite sanctuary at Khirbat Ataruz, Jordan: stratigraphy, findings, and archaeological implications

Abstract

The excavations of Khirbat Ataruz in central Jordan revealed a small cult building, with a portable stone altar with Moabite inscriptions on the body. This article concentrates on the stratigraphy and the analysis of building and vessel finds, most published here for the first time, associated with the inscription and sanctuary room. The building, dated to the mid/late 9th–early 8th centuries BCE, was constructed directly on top of earlier architecture, with substantive modification that is connected to the Iron IIA temple complex at the acropolis. This construction activity might relate to the story of a Moabite war against the ancient city of Ataroth mentioned in the Mesha Stele. Accordingly, the study of stratigraphic, ceramic and architectural evidence linked to the sanctuary and inscription offers a rare possibility to enhance our understanding of historical and archaeological issues related to the Moabites and the Mesha Stele.