Lachish Level VI Destruction and the Fosse Temple
A Canaanite city under Egypt, burned around 1150 BCE
Found 1932 — James Leslie Starkey, Wellcome-Marston Expedition (1932–38); David Ussishkin (Tel Aviv University, 1973–94); Yosef Garfinkel (2013–17)
Where Tel Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir), Shephelah (Israel)
Dates from c. 1400–1130 BCE (Fosse Temple); Level VI destroyed c. 1150–1130 BCE · Late Bronze IIB – Iron IA · Conquest under Yehoshua (Joshua)
Now at Site (Tel Lachish National Park); Fosse Temple finds in the British Museum and Rockefeller Museum; Level VI finds in the Israel Museum and Tel Aviv University
How Lachish Level VI Destruction and the Fosse Temple was found
Starkey found a three-phase Canaanite temple in the old Middle Bronze moat (fosse), full of bowls and votive gifts. Ussishkin isolated Level VI, a large Egyptian-influenced city with a temple on the summit, destroyed by fire; a bronze cartouche of Ramesses III shows it fell after c. 1180 BCE, and Ussishkin argues for c. 1130 BCE.
What it is
Lachish was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the south. The Fosse Temple was a modest mudbrick shrine used for two centuries. Level VI above it was a prosperous city whose destruction left a thick ash layer, collapsed roofs, and bodies in the streets; it was then abandoned for two centuries.
Why it matters for the Bible
Yehoshua 10:31-32 says Yehoshua took Lachish 'on the second day.' The archaeological problem is the date: Level VI burned around 1150–1130 BCE, too late for a 13th-century Conquest under Merneptah's timeline and far too late for c. 1400. Level VII, an earlier phase, ended around 1200 BCE and is sometimes proposed instead. Lachish also had no wall in this period, matching a quick capture but not the picture of a fortified city. The site shows how the Conquest evidence is uneven from city to city.
The Hebrew word: bah-YOHM hah-shay-NEE
בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי
בַּיּוֹם הַשֵּׁנִי is pronounced bah-YOHM hah-shay-NEE and means on the second day (Strong's H3117 + H8145).
People this discovery connects to
- Joshua — יְהוֹשֻׁעַ (ye-ho-SHOO-ah) — YHVH is salvation
- Japhia — יָפִיעַ (yah-FEE-ah) — shining
Places
- Lachish — לָכִישׁ (lah-CHEESH) — uncertain (possibly 'invincible')
Events
Southern campaign; capture of Lachish (Joshua 10:31-32) · King Japhia of Lachish among the five kings (Joshua 10:3)
Lachish Level VI Destruction and the Fosse Temple in Scripture
Joshua 10:3 Japhia king of Lachish joins the Amorite coalition; Lachish's Late Bronze rulers are known from the Amarna letters too. (First mention of Lachish.)
Joshua 10:31-32 Lachish fell on the second day; the unwalled Level VI or VII city could indeed fall quickly, but the dates are hard to align.
Questions people ask
What is Lachish Level VI Destruction and the Fosse Temple?
Lachish was one of the largest Canaanite cities in the south. The Fosse Temple was a modest mudbrick shrine used for two centuries. Level VI above it was a prosperous city whose destruction left a thick ash layer, collapsed roofs, and bodies in the streets; it was then abandoned for two centuries.
When was Lachish Level VI Destruction and the Fosse Temple discovered?
It was found in 1932 by James Leslie Starkey, Wellcome-Marston Expedition (1932–38); David Ussishkin (Tel Aviv University, 1973–94); Yosef Garfinkel (2013–17), at Tel Lachish (Tell ed-Duweir), Shephelah.
Where is Lachish Level VI Destruction and the Fosse Temple today?
Site (Tel Lachish National Park); Fosse Temple finds in the British Museum and Rockefeller Museum; Level VI finds in the Israel Museum and Tel Aviv University.
Which Bible verses does Lachish Level VI Destruction and the Fosse Temple relate to?
Joshua 10:3, Joshua 10:31-32.
Is Lachish Level VI Destruction and the Fosse Temple authentic?
The destruction is certain; which level (VII c. 1200 or VI c. 1130) and who destroyed it (Israelites, Sea Peoples, or Egyptians) is debated.
Related discoveries
- סֹלְלָהLachish Level III: Assyrian Siege Ramp and Battle DebrisThe only surviving Assyrian siege ramp, with arrowheads, sling stones and a mass grave
- שָׂרַף בָּאֵשׁHazor's Burned Palace and Defaced StatuesThe 'head of all those kingdoms' destroyed by fire in the 13th century BCE
- מַשְׂאֵתLachish Letters (Lachish Ostraca)Military dispatches from the last days of Judah: 'we cannot see the signals of Azekah'
- בָּמָהLachish Gate Shrine and Desecrated ToiletA gate sanctuary with broken altar horns and a stone latrine — Hezekiah's reform in action?
- כִּנִּיםLachish Ivory Comb: The Earliest Canaanite SentenceA 3,700-year-old lice comb inscribed 'May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard'
- דָּרְיָוֶשׁThe Lachish 'Darius' Ostracon (2022)A 'first Darius inscription in Israel' that turned out to be a modern demonstration piece
Sources
- D. Ussishkin (ed.), The Renewed Archaeological Excavations at Lachish (1973–1994), 5 vols. (2004)
- O. Tufnell et al., Lachish II: The Fosse Temple (1940)
- Wikipedia: Lachish
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