ARCHAEOLOGISTS
BRING ANCIENT
ZAREPHATH TO LIFE

Zarephath, the city where the prophet Elijah lived while hiding from King Ah̄ab in the 9th century B.C. is again coming to life. It was during Elijah’s stay with a widow woman there, that he miraculously multiplied her provisions and brought her son back to life. (1 Kings 17)

When Dr. Pritchard of the University of Pennsylvania discovered Zarephath in 1970, he brought to light the first Phoenician city ever found in Lebanon. Until this discovery, these ancient people, who transmitted the alphabet to the West, were best known from the colonies they established throughout the Mediterranean at harbors in Sardinia, Spain, North Africa, Cyprus, and other sites. The Phoenicians were known as Sidonians, or Zidonians, in the Bible, after Sidon, one of their chief cities.

Zarephath, whose Phoenician name was Sarepta, was a seaport lying on the Mediterranean coast between Sidon and Tyre. It thrived from about 1600 to 100 B.C. and occupied an area of 15 to 20 acres. Today Zarephath lies beneath the modern fishing village of Sarafand.

During the summer of 1972, Dr. Pritchard completed his fourth season of excavating at Zarephath under a six-year Lebanese permit. (See BIBLE AND SPADE, Vol. 1, No. 1, pg. 21 for a previous report.) Pritchard’s team of 13 archaeologists and about 75 laborers cleared a 65 by 98 foot area during the past season. Most of the site was an industrial area, but in one section the excavation uncovered a temple. The temple was an important discovery, for it represents the first Phoenician temple to be found in the homeland of these seafaring merchants. In addition, the first material evidence of two Phoenician industries, dye-making and metal working, was recovered.

The ancient stone temple was used during the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. Phonecian craftsmen built the walls of rectangular limestone blocks and the 12 by 24 foot floor with a single cement slab about four inches thick. An altar, offering tables and a cache of religious objects found inside the temple will enable scholars to

BSP 2:1 (Winter 1973) p. 24

Figurine of Ashtoreth, fertility goddess of the Phoenicians, recovered at Zarephath in 1972. Ashtoreth is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament, for example Judges 10:6, 1 Kings 11:5, 33 and 2 Kings 23:13.

examine the little-known religious practices and beliefs of the Phoenicians in their homeland. Two of the Phoenician gods — Baal and Ashtoreth — are mentioned in the Old Testament. Among the objects found in the temple were 13 different terracotta figurines representing Ashtoreth, the goddess of love and fertility.

A heap of crushed Murex shells uncovered in the industrial area provides the first material evidence of the dye-making industry, a Phoenician specialty. Phoenician dye-makers discarded about ten bushels of shells after they had extracted the body of the murex snail, which was used to make purple dye. This dye, known as “Tyrian purple” was once the sign of royalty, as only the very rich could afford to buy it.

Evidence of metalworking was also unearthed. Dr. Pritchard found a crucible, or heat-resistant pot used to melt metals, which was coated with a green slag and bits of oxidized copper. A soapstone mold for casting gold jewelry indicated that craftsmen who used the more precious metals also had their workshop here.

Dr. Pritchard’s continuing study of the pottery industry in ancient Zarephath was given a boost this year with the discovery of 14 additional kilns, one of which has its roof intact. This kiln, the first to be found with a roof, measures nine feet in diameter. Built of stone lined with clay, the circular oven was covered with a roof punctured by several flues. The upper part of the kiln and kiln roof had turned to a hard red brick from repeated firing, so hard that they endured the 2800 years since the kiln was last used.

Dr. Pritchard’s work at Zarephath is providing valuable background information on the Phoenicians, one of the important nations of Old Testament times.

(University of Pennsylvania news release dated August 20, 1972).

BSP 2:1 (Winter 1973) p. 25