Building 7050 at the Acropolis of Late Bronze Hazor: A Palace After All

Building 7050, located at the centre of the acropolis of Hazor, was constructed in the mid-14th century BCE and, like the rest of the city, was ravaged by fire sometime in the middle of the 13th century. Was this building a temple, as suggested by some, or a ceremonial palace, as advocated by the au...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tel Aviv
Main Author: Ben-Tor, Amnon 1935-2023 (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group 2020
In: Tel Aviv
Further subjects:B Hazor
B Alalakh
B Ceremonial palace
B Temple 7050
B Banquet
B Hilani
B Storage facility
B Late Bronze Age
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Summary:Building 7050, located at the centre of the acropolis of Hazor, was constructed in the mid-14th century BCE and, like the rest of the city, was ravaged by fire sometime in the middle of the 13th century. Was this building a temple, as suggested by some, or a ceremonial palace, as advocated by the author? The plan of Building 7050 is clearly different from that of contemporaneous temples in the region and very similar to that of Niqmepah’s palace at Alalakh. Details of the plans of the two structures place them as forerunners of the Bit-Hilani type of palace, typical of Iron Age edifices in Syria, such as at Zinjirli and Tell Tayinat. A large number of pithoi was found in Building 7050, as well as in the administrative palace located nearby, yet none was found in any of the four temples uncovered at Hazor. Storage facilities containing a large number of pithoi and storage jars are typical of palaces all over the ancient Near East. Other finds, such as inscribed clay tablets and Egyptian statue fragments, originated from Building 7050 and the administrative palace, but none was found in any of the four Hazor temples. It is suggested here that one of the main functions of Building 7050 was to stage banquets for the local elite where profuse food and drink were offered. Such feasts were an important part of the political, religious and social life of the palaces of Canaan in the second millennium BCE.
ISSN:2040-4786
Contains:Enthalten in: Tel Aviv
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/03344355.2020.1820006