This week, we look into a famous temple and an infamous labyrinth.
6. Ain Dara (Solomon’s
Temple), Syria – 1000 BCE
Armed conflict
destroyed Ain Dara in northwestern Syria in 2018. In the 1980s, some
archaeologists had identified it as the 3,000-year-old temple mentioned as
Solomon’s Temple in the Bible. The ancient site shared more features with the
temple described in the Book of Kings than any site uncovered before or since.
It included walls carved in reliefs of lions and cherubs, a courtyard paved in
flagstones, a monumental staircase guarded by sphinxes, and a multistory
hallway. Even its location—on a raised platform overlooking a city—echoes the
temple’s depiction in the Bible.
Although the bombing
and plundering of the site prevents archaeologists from finding any more
evidence of its history, some of its most important artifacts can be seen at
the National Museum of Aleppo.
7. Kastelli (Minotaur’s
Labyrinth), Greece – 2000 BCE
While building a new
airport on the island of Crete, workers uncovered something unexpected. With a
central circular building surrounded by eight stone rings intersected by walls,
the site resembled the style of tomb constructed by the Minoan civilization
around 2000 to 1700 BCE. But to anyone familiar with Greek mythology, it also
looked like the Minotaur’s labyrinth.
The Minotaur was a
ferocious creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man who was
trapped in a maze built by the Greek architect Daedalus. Every seven years,
Athens sacrificed seven young men and seven young women to the monster until
Theseus, a prince of the city, volunteered to kill the creature. Marking his
route with a ball of thread, Theseus made his way through the labyrinth,
murdered the beast, rescued the not-yet-dead victims, then followed the thread
back to safety.
Although archaeologists
are still studying Kastelli, its architectural similarities to the mythical
maze, combined with evidence of ceremonial offerings and communal feasting that
was found at the site, suggest that it was part of the story’s origin.
Kastelli is not open to
the public, but Knossos, the ancient palace that was previously believed to be
the site of the Minotaur’s labyrinth, is.
