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This is very interesting indeed, Zoe. BUT...it says "The absence of cultic images of humans or animals in the three shrines provides evidence that the inhabitants of the place practiced a different cult than that of the Canaanites or the Philistines, observing a ban on graven images"
Actually, you know, it doesn't. It provides evidence that on this particular construct there are no pictures of graven images...and that's all the evidence it provides.
Now, it may or may not add to a body of evidence from which the inference may be drawn that there was a belief system that did not invollve graven images, but that's inference. It may be something which can be added to a body of scholarship leading reasonably to such a conclusion, but that's all.
You have to bear in mind that the Daily Mail is widely thought to be one of the worst newspapers in Britain. Balanced reasoned argument and true scholarship is not really to be expected from its pages. Much, much more reliable are The Independent, The Guardian, The Times (but it's Rupert Murdoch these days) and the Daily Telegraph. In most cases, anything from them can be trusted. The Daily Mail loves scandal and tends to promote its own line, even right down to what is pure propaganda. (I'm not saying that is necessarily the case here.)
However, even the Daily Mail can occasionally come up with interesting stuff, as it has here. Just don't expect anything scholarly from it, let alone anything totally reliable! Anything from the other four is usually valid news...(despite Rupert Murdoch!)
Incidentally, it is notorious for being the most popular newspaper among British Jehovah's Witnesses!
Edit:
I mentiioned Zoe earlier, because somehow her name stuck in my mind, but I can see that it was you, Abstract, who actually deserves the credit for finding this in the first place, so well done! Do remember, though, that Fox News is also Rupert Murdoch! Still, it's a good find and very interesting...just don't assume the conclusions drawn are the last word!
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