Khirbat Ataruz Temple Excavations
The excavations reveal a major Iron Age religious center in territory associated with Moab. The temple remains and inscribed altar provide physical evidence of religious practices and the use of the Moabite language. The site also offers a possible archaeological setting for events described by King Mesha in his famous inscription.
About the Discovery
Khirbat Ataruz is an ancient settlement in central Jordan, east of the Dead Sea. Archaeologists uncovered a large Iron Age temple complex containing stone altars, offering installations, pottery, and objects associated with worship. The site was later modified, and a smaller Moabite sanctuary was built over earlier remains.
One important discovery was a cylindrical stone altar bearing inscriptions in the Moabite language. The inscriptions date to the late ninth or early eighth century BC. They provide rare evidence of writing and religious activity in ancient Moab.
Khirbat Ataruz is widely identified with ancient Ataroth, a town mentioned in the Mesha Stele. King Mesha of Moab claimed to have captured Ataroth from Israel. The archaeological remains provide important evidence of religious and political changes in this region, although the exact sequence of events remains under study.
Scripture Reference
Numbers 32:3, 34; Joshua 13:9; 2 Kings 3:4–27. These passages concern Ataroth, the territory east of the Jordan, and Moabite conflict with Israel. The Mesha Stele provides the more direct historical reference to the conquest of Ataroth.