The 4,500-year-old sculpture belongs to Canaanite deity Anat, the goddess of beauty, love and war
A newly-discovered stone statuette over 4,500 years old depicting the face of an ancient goddess, is displayed during a press conference at the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism in Gaza City on April 26, 2022. AFP
A Palestinian farmer in Gaza Strip has found the head of a statue of ancient Canaanite goddess Anat.
According to a report by the BBC, Palestinian archaeologist said that the head of the Canaanite deity dates back 4,500 years to the late Bronze age.
Jamal Abu Rida, a spokesperson for the Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, said that the statue represents the head of Anat, “the goddess of love, beauty and war” in Canaanite mythology.
Here is all you need to know about the ancient sculpture:
A farmer named Nidal Abu Eid found the sculpture as he was working his land on Monday in the Qarara area east of Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip.
“While I was plowing the land to plant it, we discovered this statue. What caught our attention is the inscription of the snake on the head, which means it is very important,” he said, as quoted by NBC News.
The 22cm-high (8.7 in) limestone head shows the face of the goddess wearing a serpent crown, which is a symbol of strength and invisibility.
The Canaanites find mention in the Bible as the inhabitants of Jerusalem and other parts of the Middle East.
The Canaanite people were characterized by the worship of local deities in local temples, and depictions of the gods were scarce, making the discovery a rare one, NBC reported.
The sculpture is currently being displayed at Qasr al-Basha, a small museum with an antiquities department in Gaza.
Unveiling the antique, Rida said that the statue is “a symbol for the oldest human civilization that lived in Gaza City.”
“Such discoveries prove that Palestine has civilisation and history, and no-one can deny or falsify this history. This is the Palestinian people and their ancient Canaanite civilisation,” he said.
According to the BBC, Hamas has previously been accused of destroying the remains of a large, fortified Canaanite town, Tell al-Sakan, to make way for housing and military bases south of highly populated Gaza City.
However, this year Hamas reopened the remains of a 5th Century Byzantine church after foreign donors helped pay for a years-long restoration project.
Work also stopped at a building site in northern Gaza when 31 Roman-era tombs were found there, the BBC reported.
With inputs from agencies
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