Concept

Joshuas Altar at Mount Ebal

Intro

In the 1980s the Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal began a comprehensive survey of the highlands of Samaria. On the northeastern flank of Mount Ebal, he discovered a curious rectangular stone structure that did not match the typical Iron Age architecture of the region. As he excavated, he uncovered a large platform built of unhewn stones with a ramp leading up to it (not steps), surrounded by a courtyard with thick deposits of burned animal bones from clean-kosher species (cattle, sheep, goats, fallow deer). The associated pottery dated the structure to the late 13th to early 12th century BC, the transition from Late Bronze to Iron Age I. Zertal identified the structure as the altar Joshua built on Mount Ebal according to Joshua 8.30-35 and Deuteronomy 27.4-8.

The identification is contested. Mainstream archaeology accepts the site exists and dates to the right general period but disputes the altar identification. In 2019, Scott Stripling's re-excavation team recovered a small folded lead amulet at the site with a proto-Hebrew inscription that some readings interpret as containing a YHWH reference. The amulet reading has been disputed in turn. The Mount Ebal find remains one of the most-debated possible Old Testament site identifications in current biblical archaeology.

In full

The Mount Ebal structure is a rectangular stone platform on the northeastern slope of Mount Ebal (Jebel Aslamiyeh), in the central highlands of Samaria, modern West Bank. The structure consists of a large rectangular platform built of unhewn stones (matching Exodus 20.25 / Deuteronomy 27.5-6's prescription for an altar of unhewn stones), with a sloping ramp on the southwest side (not steps, matching Exodus 20.26's prohibition of steps to the altar), surrounded by a courtyard with thick layers of burned animal bones from clean-kosher species. The associated pottery dates the structure to roughly 1250-1150 BC. The site was excavated by Adam Zertal (University of Haifa) from 1982 to 1989; Scott Stripling (Associates for Biblical Research) conducted a re-excavation and sifting project in 2019, recovering a small folded lead amulet with a possible proto-Hebrew inscription. The altar identification is contested in mainstream archaeology.

Discovery

Discovered 1980 during Adam Zertal's Manasseh Hill Country Survey. Excavated by Zertal from 1982 to 1989. Zertal published the identification as Joshua's Altar of Joshua 8.30-35 in 1985 (Biblical Archaeology Review 11.1). The identification was immediately contested by Aharon Kempinski (Tel Aviv University) and others. Zertal continued to defend the identification through his lifetime (he died in 2015). In 2019, Scott Stripling led a re-excavation focused on sifting previously discarded dump material; the team recovered approximately 20 metal objects including the small folded lead amulet that has subsequently been the subject of intense scholarly debate.

What it shows

Three relevant attestations, with calibrated confidence:

A late-13th-century BC ritual structure on Mount Ebal. The basic datum: a substantial unhewn-stone platform with a ramp, surrounded by ash deposits and burned bones from clean-kosher species, dated to roughly the period of Israel's emergence in Canaan. The structure is uncontested.
Match with the Joshua narrative (contested identification). Pro-Zertal: the unhewn-stone construction matches Deuteronomy 27.5-6; the ramp (not steps) matches Exodus 20.26; the clean-kosher animal bones fit Israelite sacrificial practice; the location on Mount Ebal matches Joshua 8.30-35; the date fits Joshua's conquest chronology on early-date readings. Anti-Zertal: the structure may be a Late Bronze or Iron Age I watchtower or farmstead rather than an altar; the animal-bone analysis may not be decisive for ritual function; the identification with Joshua's altar is a maximalist reading.
The 2019 lead amulet (contested reading). Stripling's 2019 re-excavation recovered a small (2 × 2 cm) folded lead amulet. Stripling, Galil, and van der Veen argued in 2022-2023 that the interior bears a paleo-Hebrew inscription containing the divine name YHW or YHWH, which would be the earliest known YHWH inscription in the Land of Israel by roughly two centuries. The reading has been contested in subsequent peer-reviewed analysis (Christopher Rollston, Aren Maeir, others); some scholars argue the marks may not be alphabetic characters at all. The reading is currently disputed.

Biblical references

Deuteronomy 27.1-8, Moses commands the building of an altar on Mount Ebal of unhewn stones.
Joshua 8.30-35, Joshua builds an altar on Mount Ebal and writes the law on stones; reads the blessings and curses to the assembled tribes.
Exodus 20.24-26, earlier altar instructions: unhewn stones, no steps.
Deuteronomy 11.29, "you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal."

Evidential status

Contested. The site is mainstream-confirmed as a late-13th-century BC ritual or domestic structure on Mount Ebal. The identification as Joshua's altar is contested: Zertal and the Associates for Biblical Research defend the identification; mainstream archaeology is divided. The 2019 lead amulet reading is contested. The find is best presented in apologetic discussion with these distinctions made: the structure exists at the right period; the identification with Joshua's altar is one current proposal; the lead amulet reading is debated.

Common questions this page answers

Q: Was Joshua's altar on Mount Ebal really found?

Possibly. The Israeli archaeologist Adam Zertal discovered a late-13th-century BC stone structure on the northeastern flank of Mount Ebal in 1980, which he identified as the altar Joshua built according to Joshua 8.30-35. The structure features unhewn stones (matching Deuteronomy 27.5-6), a ramp rather than steps (matching Exodus 20.26), and surrounding burned animal bones from clean-kosher species. The identification is contested in mainstream archaeology; alternative interpretations (a watchtower or farmstead) have been proposed.

Q: What is the Mount Ebal curse tablet?

In 2019, Scott Stripling's re-excavation team at Mount Ebal recovered a small (2 × 2 cm) folded lead amulet. In 2022-2023, Stripling, Gershon Galil, and Pieter van der Veen argued that the interior bears a paleo-Hebrew inscription containing the divine name YHWH, which would be the earliest known YHWH inscription in the Land of Israel by roughly two centuries. The reading has been disputed in subsequent peer-reviewed analysis (Christopher Rollston, Aren Maeir); some scholars argue the marks may not be alphabetic characters at all. The reading remains contested.

Q: Where is Mount Ebal?

In the central highlands of Samaria, in the modern West Bank, just north of the modern city of Nablus (biblical Shechem). Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are the two mountains between which Shechem sits; Deuteronomy 11.29 designates Ebal as the mountain for the curse pronouncements and Gerizim for the blessing.

Q: Should the Mount Ebal altar be used in apologetic argument?

With appropriate caveats. The honest framing: a late-13th-century BC ritual or domestic structure on Mount Ebal exists; its identification as Joshua's altar is one current scholarly proposal but is contested; the 2019 lead amulet reading is disputed. The site adds to the case that the Israelite occupation of central Canaan in the relevant period is archaeologically attested, without requiring commitment to the specific Joshua-altar identification.

Q: What does Joshua's altar prove if it is genuine?

If the identification holds, the site would provide direct material evidence for the Joshua narrative's account of an early Israelite ritual installation on Mount Ebal, anchoring the conquest narrative in the late 13th century BC. This would carry significant weight against late-composition theories that place the Joshua narratives as post-exilic literary construction. The contested status of the identification means the apologetic weight is currently moderated; the find is best presented as suggestive rather than decisive.