Sketches and Final Works of Art: The Drawings and Wall Paintings of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud Revisited

This study examines the role of the pithoi drawings and wall paintings of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud. The author suggests that the pithoi drawings were sketches made in preparation for the wall paintings. Therefore, the repeated attempts to find meaning in the layout of the drawings on the pithoi, or to trace links between them and the inscriptions seem futile. She argues that only an investigation of the pottery drawings and the wall paintings as one assemblage reveals the thematic program of the buildings’ decor, which is comprised of two groups: one depicts subject matters related to the king and his activities, the second presents beneficial motifs. The combination of these themes typifies state-run official buildings in the first millennium throughout the ancient Near East and does not support the suggestion that Kuntillet ‘Ajrud served as a ‘religious’ building or centre, although the state sponsored site at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud included a small cultic architectural space.