A Phoenician “incense altar” from Tell el-Burak, Lebanon

Abstract

This paper discusses an Iron Age incense altar which was found out of context in Tell el-Burak, South Lebanon. It is the fourth of its kind to be found in that country. The small stone altar is characterized by the presence of a band on its upper part and by the absence of horns. It belongs to the category of freestanding altars defined by Gitin. The study suggests that this altar did not have a cultic function as no traces of burning and no depression on its surface were detected. Rather, and by analogy with the Ekron evidence, it is proposed that it may have been connected with an industry, wine or olive oil production, that was taking place probably on Tell el-Burak. This hypothetical function was suggested in the light of the discovery of a large vat on the southern slope of the Tell which was obviously part of an industrial installation and in the presence of in situ broken amphorae in one of the houses.