Helena Roth. Светский образ жизни? Культовая практика в Иудейском нагорье в начале бронзового века

“Cult and Interaction in the Early and Intermediate Bronze Ages“ An online workshop hosted by the RIAB Minerva Center and the Institute of Archaeology at Bar-Ilan University 22 April 2021 “A Secular Way of Life? Cultic Practice in the Judean Highlands during the Intermediate Bronze Age “ by Helena Roth, Tel Aviv University Abstract: The striking scarcity of architecture and paraphernalia associated with cult during the Intermediate Bronze Age raises the question of its mere existence. The near absence of cult associated finds in contemporaneous settlements in the Central Highlands may be interpreted as evidence of absence. Were the Highland communities leading a secular lifestyle? Was there no place for expressing and executing their system of belief within their lived space? In this paper, I will address the finds associated with cultic practices within the settlements in the Judean Highlands and their near absence, focusing on the site of Nahal Rephaʾim. This