The favissa artifacts constitute a treasure of special cult vessels and stones that were used as standing stones, offering tables and altars. The cult objects were used in the temple that operated at the site in the end of the Iron Age. The finds can be divided into two groups. 1. Regular cult vessels. 2. Special cult vessels. The regular cult vessels are sub-divided into eight groups. Most of the vessels occur in pairs. Twenty per cent of them are decorated and most of them are fenestrated. In many of them there were signs of soot, evidence that they had been used. The special vessels comprise three anthromorphic statues from which we can learn about the iconography of the temple: two are of bearded men and one is a woman playing an instrument. There is a fenestrated stand on which figurines of people, animals and birds are affixed. A statue made of stone apparently represents a human figurine, although the head is missing and on it are remains of an inscription and a drawing of a garment. A goring bull is carved on one of the stands. There are also pomegranate medallions and standing stones.
The artifacts that are in the favissa are all well-known from the religious iconography of the Near East in general and the Levant in particular. The anthromorphic statues, the stone statue and the stand with the images in relief reflect an artistic style that is not Judahite. This is a style which is somewhat similar to that of the finds at Qitmit which the excavators have identified as Edomite based on the Edomite inscriptions that were found there.
Whereas the gods depicted on the statues found at Qitmit can be identified, I did not succeed in locating a divinity that was worshipped in the temple at Hatzva, thus making it difficult to attribute the temple to a particular religion.
Since statues like these have still not been found in Edom itself, the discovery of new similar statues in northern Syria and in Moab makes it difficult to ascribe the finds to the Edomite religion, unless inscriptions and new finds will be discovered.
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