Contexts of the Rectangular Limestone Incense Altars
The small rectangular incense altars are found throughout Mesopotamia, Arabia, Turkey, Cyprus, and the Levant (Hassell 2002, 157-92; 2005, 133-62; O’Dwyer Shea 1983, 81-83, 97-100; Stern 1982, 182-95; Strommenger 1967, 31, pl.
46, 7 a/b; Weippert 1988, 715-16; Woolley and Mallowan 1976, 60, 186 n. 1, pl. 97i U.6812; Ziegler 1942, 224-40; Zwickel 1990, 62). As for the type of the Levantine incense altars with various geometric decorations, the question of its origin remains unsolved, since the earlier specimens from Mesopotamia and South Ara- [212] bia are considered to be remarkably similar (Nielsen 1986, 29). In the Levant, these incense altars are mostly found in the southern region (Aharoni 1973, pl. 29.3, 4; Cymbalista 1997, 145; Petrie 1928, 18-19; Zwickel 1990, 88). 'These southern Levantine altars are different from those from Mesopotamia and South Arabia; many southern Levantine altars have both geometric and faunal decoration motifs. Nevertheless, procuring of raw materials for these incense altars is poorly understood. The study of raw materials has not been reported except for the ones from Lachish. According to Tufnell, the Lachish incense altars are made of soft local huwar limestone (Tufnell 1953, 383). But, we are not sure that the claims are based on any scientific analysis. Likewise, incense altar production study has also not advanced. Previously, Stern argued for the possibility of Phoenician manufacturing of the small Levantine incense altars based on the discoveries of similar incense altars in a Phoenician temple at Markmish and a workshop at Shiqmona as well as the specialized Phoenician craftsmanship (Stern 1982, 194).Unlike the procuring of raw materials and production of incense altars, we have a fairly better understanding of the distribution of the southern Levantine incense altars.
Zwickel’s study reveals that these small altars were found mostly in domestic contexts from as early as the eighth century BCE to the Persian and the Hellenistic period (Zwickel 1990, 88). Their domestic context is in sharp contrast with those of the earlier three-legged incense burners found mostly in graves and probably used in funerary rituals in Transjordan (40). His statistic data, however, indicate that they were mostly popular during and following the postexilic period (88). The Tell Halif incense altars accord well with this general distribution except that they are somewhat early in date among the reported small incense altar cluster. The four specimens from Tell Halif under the present discussion were found in the same stratigraphic phase, Stratum VIB, which is distinguished by its massive destruction attributed to Sennacherib’s invasion of Judah at the end of the eighth century BCE (table 1). The recovered ceramic assemblage and the identified functions of the architectural remains, a typical so-called four-room house layout, where the altars were found, attest to the domestic nature of the contexts of the incense altars. An important point for dating these objects is that one altar (Obj. 3191) was recovered from the actual occupational accumulation while the other specimens were recovered from loci in the same stratum (table 2).
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