Avraham Hai/Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology

FINDS ON DISPLAY. Before the Kuntillet ‘Ajrud finds were returned to Egypt in 1994 as part of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty, many of the artifacts were shown in an exhibit at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Shown here are two reconstructed pithoi, or storage jars, weighing 30 pounds each and measuring 3.3 feet tall, as well as a large 400-pound stone basin with a Hebrew inscription on the rim. Although difficult to see in this photo, the pithoi, called Pithos A and Pithos B, are covered with paintings of deities, animals, humans and numerous inscriptions—a treasure trove for archaeologists.