麻豆淫院

A recent study by Dr. Levana Tsfania-Zias, in the journal Levant, reveals how ancient Phoenicians may have incorporated cleansing into their religious purification rituals at the sacred precinct of Tel Dan for nearly five centuries.

Tel Dan has been excavated since the late 1960s, initially by Avraham Biran between 1969 and 1994, and then again on behalf of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem by David Ilan and Yifat Thareani between 2005 and 2022.

The site is located approximately 12 km from Qiryat Shemona, Israel, with almost continuous use for nearly five centuries. It is situated on a massive Middle Bronze Age rampart overlooking the countryside, near two springs that feed into the River Jordan.

The basic structure of the temple is a rectangle containing three connected rooms, a porch or entrance area, the cella (the central worship space), and the adyton (a sacred rear room).

During the 1976 excavation season, a carved limestone slab was discovered, revealing a didactic text in Greek and Aramaic.

The script reads, "To the God who is in Dan, Zoilos made a vow. In Dan(?) a vow of Zilas to God." Who this god of Dan is remains unknown; however, early scholars believed it was the god of the Israelites, although others contest that the temple was dedicated to an unknown god.

In Phoenician and other Near Eastern traditions, it is common to simply refer to a deity by the city in which they are worshiped, such as "Lord of [City Name]," making identification of the god difficult.

However, it is known that worship of this god took on a more familiar form, involving ritual cleansing.

After the takeover by the Seleucids and the destruction of the original temple, a new temple was built following a similar style and layout to the first, which included a ritual bathing unit. The bathing unit was separated into two sections鈥攁 yellow-plastered dressing area and a blue-plastered basin room.

The cleansing bath/basin was not large enough to allow for full-body immersion and lacked a hypocaust, suggesting that cold water was likely used to clean the body while standing.

The modest size and entrance from the west, which bypassed the public porch and led directly into the cella, suggests the ritual bathing room was intended mainly for the priestly class.

This changed after the temple was abandoned for nearly 200 years, after which it was used once more during the Middle鈥揕ate Roman period (end of 1st鈥揺arly 4th centuries CE). It was in this period that a Fountain House was added.

The temple now served pilgrims who could wash themselves before entering the premises. Plain, simple local clay vessels were found here, likely bought by the pilgrims to be used in their ritual washing before being destroyed, a practice also referred to in biblical texts.

Dr. Tsfania-Zias elaborates on the function of the temple, saying, "I believe it primarily served as a local sanctuary for the nearby population. However, the presence of imported ceramics and the inscription discovered at the site suggests that the temple also attracted visitors from beyond the immediate region."

Sadly, it remains unknown how the purification rituals at Tel Dan compared to those at other Phoenician sites with known deities. "Unfortunately, there is a lacuna in the available data, and I do not currently have access to such information," says Dr. Tsfania-Zias.

"Looking ahead, we are planning to excavate additional squares in Area T. I hope this will provide further insight into the identity and practices of local worshipers from the surrounding region."

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