»Top-Down« and »Bottom-up« Monumentality at Kuntillet 'Ajrud: The Evolution of the Benchroom at Kuntillet 'Ajrud as a Communal Monument

In this essay I analyze the aggregate of texts, images, and vessels in the area of the benchroom in Building A of the Iron II site of Kuntillet 'Ajrud using the framework of monumentality. I examine the ways in which the monumentality of this space developed through central planning but also through the aggregation of material depositions left in the benchroom by diverse people. The ritual meaning of the benchroom and its importance as a communal monument at this site was interconnected to the message of protection communicated by its »top-down« design as a royal fort and by the royal decorative program of its painted walls. All of these aspects of the site conditioned the evolution of the benchroom into a communal monument where people could petition the gods for protection.