Published: Sep 3, 2010 00:20 Updated: Sep 3, 2010 00:31
AMMAN: Jordan's Department of Antiquities on Thursday unveiled what it labeled as one of the most important Iron Age discoveries in the region, including a 3,000-year-old Moabite temple.
The three-story temple, which dates back to between 1200 and 600 BC, yielded over 300 Moabite artifacts, leading experts to believe it was once a political and religious base for the Moabite kingdom, the department's Director General, Ziad Saad, said in a statement.
The bulk of the historic findings were uncovered last month by a joint team of the Department of Antiquities and the La Sierra University in the United States.
Among the newly discovered artifacts are a statue of the bull-faced Moabite deity Hadad and nearly 300 vessels, lamps and altars for performing religious rituals, Saad said.
The discoveries at Khirbet Ataruz, near Dhiban, some 50 km south of Amman, told the story of Iron-Age Jordan, he added.
"This is a very important period of Jordan's history. The Iron Age was a period of great historical and political importance and strong kingdoms that saw many technological advancements," he said.
The Moabites are believed to have been Canaanite tribes that settled in the land between the River Jordan and the Eastern Desert in the 14th century BC. Their reign came to an end with the Persian invasion around the 7th century BC. ¬
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