Ritual Kitchens and Communal Feasting: Excavating the Southeastern Sector of the Ataruz Temple Courtyard, Jordan

This paper presents the results of the 2010–23 excavations of the southeastern sector of the Iron II temple at Khirbat Ataruz, Jordan, revealing a purpose-built kitchen complex and a rock-cut libation and animal slaughter feature. Abundant animal bones were collected from the eastern section of the area. Zooarchaeological analysis reveals that faunal remains are dominated by sheep and goats—species central to sacrificial rites—with smaller yet consistent contributions from deer and cattle, and a notable absence of pig bones. Together, these exceptionally well-preserved remains provide rare evidence of integrated cultic architecture, encompassing culinary, sacrificial, and communal feasting, and shed new light on the design of sacred space, religious practices, and temple meals in the southern Levant during the 9th–8th centuries BCE.