JERUSALEM, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Excavations for a highway renovation
in Israel have uncovered rare remains of ritual objects and a
3,000-year-old temple, archaeologists say. Israel's Antiquities
Authority said ruins of a structure were found at Tel Motza west
of Jerusalem, including massive walls and an east-facing
entrance suggesting the building was a temple, The Jerusalem
Post reported. Aligning the entrance with the sun's rays to
illuminate a ritual object placed within the temple would
"symbolizing the divine presence within," archaeologist Ann
Eirikh said. A square structure believed to be an altar was
discovered along with a nearby cache of objects including
decorated pedestals, pottery vessels, fragments of chalices and
clay figures of humans and domesticated animals, researchers
said. "The finds recently discovered at Tel Motza provide rare
archaeological evidence for the existence of temples and ritual
enclosures in the Kingdom of Judah in general ... prior to the
religious reforms throughout the kingdo