LAROCCA-PIlTS:"THESEAREYOIII(Gons, 0 ISRAEL" 61Baalisticiconography.ISOtherstandingstonesth:Hcanberightlyidentified
:ISculticare the largemonoliths commonlyreferred toas MacAlister's
"HighPlace" atGezer(someofwhichweresituatedoverinfamburialsI6),
thesmallstelaecollectionfromI-Iazormemionedabove,similarcollections
ofsmallstelaefoundatTelDan,17andthelargestandingstoneatTelBal-
atah(biblicalShechem).IHAgain,however,onemustdecidewhattypeof
culticusesuchSlonesmayhavehad.ThoseatTelDanandI-Iazor:lppear
tobeassemblagesthatmayrepresentworshipersratherthandeities.Tel
Balalah'sstoneandthoseatGezerareuninscribedandsomiglllpresent
manyplausibleexplanationsastotheirfunction,
AI/aI's.PerhapslhemostnotableexampleofanIsraelitealt;uisthelarge
"hornedallar"recoveredfrom13eersheba.^19 Amoreambiguousassonment
ofsmallerhornedaltarswasdiscoveredatTelMiqne-Ekron.Whatmakes
thiscollectioncuriousisthecontext.Althoughsomeeighteensmallhorned
altarswerefoundatTelMiqne-Ekron,someofthemwerefoundwithinan
oliveoil-producingfactory,raisingthequeslionofwhethertheirusehere
wasindustrialandnotcultic,20
Ceramic incenseburnersandslal/ds. Several different types of
ceramicslandsexistintherepertoireofIsraelitepottery.Mostnotableof
thesemaybethemoldedincenseburningstandsrecoveredfromTaanach
thatcontainiconographicsymbolismsculptedonlOthem.^21 Otherless-
orn~lteexamplesofcerami.inccnspsunds,somf'wilhfiguresandsome
with"windows"Clitalit(theso-called"fenestratedstands"),andchalice-
shapedstandsorburnershavebeenfoundatvarioussites.^22 Whatthe
moreplainoftheseslands lackin iconography,theymakeupfor in
ritualcontext.^23
Stalllaty.Therehavebeenmanyexamplesofcast-metalstatuaryfound
inIsraelandCanaan,thegreatmajorityofwhkhcanbeidentifiedbytheir
iconogr.\phy,OraNegbi'sfamollscatalogueCanaaniteGodsillMelalpro-
videsa wealthofexamplesofthevarioustypes,manyofwhichhavelx.>en
15 lk:rndtandKed,Moml,SlierIIlldKIIII.
16 Willi:llllG.Dever,"Gczer."OEAN/~'2:39li.
17 Avr;lh:llllBirJn."SacredSpa('l:s:OfSl<mdingSlOm:s,High!'!:lcesandCultObj<.-"<-'Isat
D:m:BAR24/5(998):38-45,70.
lHJoeD.Seger,"Shechem,"OEANf,"'):20.
19 /'.lal"':lr,AI"cbMologyoflbe1.Ll/1l1(iflbeBible.4%,t1g.11.21.
20 ·["nldeDOlhanandSeymourGillin,"Miqneh,Tel."OEANI-.·4:.33:Hol>t:rt D.lIaak.
"Altars,"OIiAN/;1:81.
2\ BUlhIlestrin."UnderstandingA~her:lh:Explorinj.\SemiticIconOj.\r,lphy," /JAR17/5
UI)I)[):50-58.
22 Amir:1rl,AI/demPo/I,")'ofIbeHoly'--lIml.302-(i
23 For;1reconstructionofonesuchCOnlexl,~ceBclhAlpcrtNakhai. "Wh:ll'sa U;lI1l;lh?
HowSacredSpaceFUllctionedinAndcrll1-<r;I(,-I."/JAR20,'3099·n:18-29.