Philistine Rural Temple Economy: The Early Iron Age Fauna from Nahal Patish

Excavations at the site of Nahal Patish in the northwestern Negev have revealed an Iron-Age Philistine temple that dates to the end of the eleventh – early tenth century BCE. The non-domestic status of one area of the site as a functioning temple complex is suggested by features that include architectural layout, an altar, a standing stone, benches, favissa pits, and ritual paraphernalia that consists of chalices, stands, and a lion-headed drinking cup. The faunal sample from the temple precinct provides an opportunity to investigate the role animals played in a ritual context in terms of species selection, culling schedules, body part representation, symmetry bias, and other details. Relatively little data on Philistine cultic proceedings are known from rural occupations; what exists is primarily derived from urban centers. This study offers an opportunity to further document the expression of early Philistine cult as performed in a boundary zone at the periphery of southeastern Philistia.