New Discoveries at Tel Lachish – June 29th Edition

We discovered some nice things at biblical Lachish over the past two days of excavation. Here are photos of some of them.

I will start with a typical oil lamp from Old Testament times. Scorching is visible around the area of the wick.

A mostly-intact oil lamp from the time of the biblical kings. These kinds of lamps were typical light sources in homes and other buildings. (Photo by Luke Chandler)

We found a beautiful decorative bead made of faience, which is powdered quartz with a special glaze. The bead is powder blue and easily stands out. I am not permitted to post a closer photo at this point, but…

Kasia holding a small decorative bead made of faience. A closer photo of the object is not permitted at this point, I’m afraid. (Photo – from a distance – by Luke Chandler)

… The bead would go nicely with this necklace in the Israel Museum. This necklace was found at Lachish in the 1930’s and dates to the same time period as the faience bead we just found.

A Late Bronze necklace discovered at Tel Lachish in the 1930’s. The powder-blue decorations are made of faience, the same material as the decorative bead we found. (Photo by Luke Chandler)

We found a very nice pyxis, an imported vessel from ancient Greece. It is in excellent condition after 3,000+ years under the ground. Finds like this help to reveal the state of politics and trade between ancient peoples. It appears Lachish (and other Canaanite cities) had trade relations with Greece during the period of the biblical Judges.

A 3,000+ year-old “pyxis” imported from ancient Greece. Evidence of painting is still visible. (Photo by Luke Chandler)

Lachish has a well-known gate complex from the time of the later Judahite kings but we are looking for older gates in different parts of the city. Does this intact socket stone indicate anything? A large wooden door post used to sit in this hole. Was it part of a city gate or perhaps some large, monumental building? We will know more soon.

A socket stone for a large door. Perhaps part of an ancient gate? A large door to an important building? (Photo by Luke Chandler)

We thought we had a sling stone yesterday, but when we took it out we noticed the bottom was flat. Sling stones are perfectly spherical. This little round stone appears to be a weight for measuring quantities on a scale. It has not yet been analyzed but we will eventually discern its unit of weight.

A small weight discovered early this week. We thought it was a sling stone at first, but then we noticed that the bottom was flat. This was likely used to weigh out quantities of food and/or valuable metals.

I will conclude this update with a photo of the sunset from Lachish. More news and finds to come later, so please check back!

Sunset at Lachish. This same sun was producing 100+ degree temperatures in the U.S. but providing us with a gorgeous view to end our day. (Photo by Luke Chandler)

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