In first, researchers find where Jerusalemites prayed before Temple became only game in town

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-first-researchers-find-where-jerusalemites-prayed-before-temple-became-only-game-in-town/

Researchers believe an ancient multi-room structure uncovered near Jerusalem’s Old City was likely used for ritual and worship nearly 3,000 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday, marking the first such find of a religious site practically down the street from the biblical First Temple while it still stood.

The 220-square-meter (2,370-square-foot) structure, dating from the 8th century BCE, “features eight rock-hewn rooms containing an altar, a standing stone, an oil press, and a winepress,” the IAA said in a statement about the well-preserved site, which was seemingly boarded up during an ancient crackdown on worship outside the Temple Mount. Standing stones are upright stones placed in the ground associated with religious ceremonies.