Top reports part 2

por
March 25, 2022 Bryan Windle Top Three Reports in Biblical Archaeology – March 2022 This month’s news items include three finds related to names that were considered divine in the ancient world: Baal, Horus, and YHWH. One of these discoveries will almost certainly be high on most year-end Top Ten lists. Here were the top three news reports in March 2022. 3. Sacred Pool In Honor of Baal Identified in Sicily The refurbished Pool of Baal in Sicily, with a replica of a statue of Baal at its center. Photo: Antiquity Publication Ltd / Sapienza University of Rome In a new article in the journal Antiquity, Prof. Lorenzo Nigro of Sapienza University in Rome argues that a structure once thought to be a Phoenician harbour in Sicily was actually a sacred pool in honor of Baal. When the rectangular, artificial basin was first discovered in 1906, it was thought to be an artificial harbor, called a kothon. In his article, Nigro points out that the structure was a freshwater pool with three temples surrounded by a circular wall, and that it was not connected with the sea. Rather, it is more consistent with other Phoenician sites where natural and artificial water sources were used for ritual purposes. A statue would have once stood in the center of the pool; the statue is gone, but one fragment of a foot has been found. More importantly, a Greek inscription dedicated to[...x]