A First Temple period (c. 1000-586 BC) cult center was recently discovered at Tel Motza near Jerusalem.
The site includes a small shrine, an altar, and several small cultic figurines, including one that might be a proto-cherub.
It may be associated with the type of center abolished by the reforms of Hezekiah.
Or a horse of the sun… or maybe that’s the same thing.
This all the more striking due to the discovery of a contemporary sanctuary and inscription at Khirbet Qeiyafa in the Elah Valley. Another significant body blow to minimalism.
Indeed!