Har Karkom

Har Karkom ("Mountain of Saffron", also called Jabal Ideid) is a mountain in the southwest Negev desert in Israel, half way between Petra and Kadesh Barnea. On the basis that the Israelites travelled across the Sinai peninsula towards Petra in a fairly straight line, a number of scholars have contemplated the possibility of Har Karkom being the Biblical Mount Sinai. Following this theory, Emmanuel Anati excavated at the mountain, and discovered that it was a major paleolithic cult centre, with the surrounding plateau covered with shrines, altars, stone circles, stone pillars, and over 40,000 rock engravings.

Although, on the basis of his findings, Anati advocates the identification of Har Karkom with Mount Sinai,[1][2] the peak of religious activity at the site may date to 2350-2000 BC, and the mountain appears to have been abandoned perhaps between 1950-1000 BC; the exodus is sometimes dated between 1600-1200 BC. However, no archaeological evidence has been supported by scholars to maintain a date of 1600-1200 BC. Anati instead places the Exodus, based on other archaeological evidence at between 20000 to 2350 BC.[3]

Citations and Notes

  1. ↑ Emmanuel Anati, The riddle of Mount Sinai : archaeological discoveries at Har Karkom (2001)
  2. ↑ Mount Sinai has been found: some Archaeological discoveries at Har Karkom
  3. ↑ Mount Sinai has been found: some Archaeological discoveries at Har Karkom

Further reading

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Coordinates: 30°17′N 34°45′E / 30.283°N 34.750°E / 30.283; 34.750

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