In his image: God or ruler? A stone relief from the Iron IIA cultic precinct at Tel Moza

This paper examines a broken stone relief recently discovered in the foundations of the large temple in the Iron Age cultic precinct at Tel Moza, near Jerusalem. The precinct, spanning most or all of the Iron II, contains two superimposed temples: a modest Early Iron IIA temple and a larger Late Iron IIA temple. The stone relief, characteristic of Iron IIA public religious architecture in the northern Levant, is analyzed within the precinct's context and the broader framework of ancient Near Eastern cultic practices. We propose that the relief was originally part of the early temple and depicted an important figure, likely a ruler or deity, and that its deliberate breaking and burial were ritual acts intended to transfer the sanctity and power of the old temple to the new one and that they convey reverence and continuity. These ritual practices observed at Moza suggest a broader mirroring of cultic patterns from the northern Levant to the Iron Age southern Levent than previously discerned.