Yoram Weinberg

Disinterred after centuries, a monumental public building destroyed in the catastrophe that overwhelmed the final Canaanite city in the 12th century B.C. emerges into the light of day.

Only partially excavated, the remains of a pillared hall are clearly visible in the foreground. Another hall, or perhaps a courtyard, lies directly above the pillared hall at the top of the picture. The Judean city wall towers over the excavations. The plan shows the building’s layout.

The public building was built of mudbrick on a stone foundation. The thickness of the foundation indicates that this building may have had a second story.