King Hezekiah put WHAT in this temple?!?

Last week, we talked about Lachish's story as the 2nd most important fortified city in Judea. This week, we're going to tour the tel!

First up: the city gates! You can walk up the ramp and right into them. But first, there's this artist rendering of the outer gate from the time of Hezekiah is very helpful:

Then, the inner gates:

Just inside these gates is the remains of temple... with something else very interesting...

This shrine is from King Hezekiah's time. He was a righteous king, and he wanted to stamp out all forms of idolatry and false worship. So, he had the altars smashed and a toilet placed in the corner. Tests of the soil say it likely wasn't used, but that is very interesting nonetheless!

Next, on to the palace! It was HUGE, covering 14 dunams (3.5 acres). Outside of it is a really cool installation: a row of chairs representing all the kings of Judah, in order. The height of the back of the chair indicates the length of their reign. Pretty neat!

And, on top of the palace ruins, are nice overlooks with an interactive display where you can line of ancient cities written in Biblical Hebrew, Modern Hebrew, and English.

Finally, there's a beautiful viewpoint towards Jerusalem with signs and displays talking about the Assyrian conquest and the history of the tel. 

You can also go up to the side of the tel where the Assyrians came up the ramp. On top is a place that looks like a wall or blockade was made in order to stop the Assyrians. Something fascinating about this area is that when the ground in the area was tested, they found the soil in the opposite order it was supposed to be: oldest remains were on top, with the newest on bottom. That's because when you overturn earth to build, what's on top goes to the bottom, and what's on bottom goes on top.

And finally, the Biblical record from 2 Kings 19 showing how God defeated the Assyrians on behalf of Israel.

That's it (for now) of Lachish's story and tour. It was so incredible I'd love to go back. What about you? Did you know the story of Lachish? Let me know in the comments below!