Strata: Do You Remember What This Is?

A. Stepping stool

B. Animal pen

C. Castle turret

D. Altar

E. Doorstop

Answer: (D) Altar

This horned altar from Beer-Sheva appeared in the first issue of Biblical Archaeology Review in 1975.^a Dated to the eighth century B.C.E., the altar was discovered during Yohanan Aharoni’s excavations at Tel Beersheba, an archaeological site about 3 miles east of modern Beer-Sheva in southern Israel. Many—but not all—scholars believe Tel Beersheba to be the Biblical site of Beer-Sheva.

The altar was made of carved sandstone blocks—even though this goes against the Biblical rule that altars should be made of unhewn stones: “But if you make for me an altar of stone, do not build it of hewn stones; for if you use a chisel upon it, you profane it” (Exodus 20:25). The altar was found unassembled; the excavators discovered its blocks reused in the wall of a storehouse. Because the altar was dismantled, its dimensions are not known for sure, but archaeologists believe that the altar measured 5.25 by 5.25 feet and stood 5.25 feet high.