4,500-year-old goddess statue found by a farmer in Gaza | Globalism

Palestinian archaeologists say the head of the Canaanite god Anat dates back 4,500 years, the late Bronze Age.

The discovery was made by a farmer who was digging his land in Khan Yunis, south of the range.

On social media, some Gazans quipped that finding a statue of the goddess of war was convenient in the area. In recent years, the area has been the scene of a violent conflict between Israel and armed groups in Gaza, which is governed by Israel. agitation.

The discovery of this limestone statue is a reminder of how Gaza strip Part of an important trade route for successive ancient civilizations, it was originally a Canaanite settlement.

The 22 cm high statue shows the face of the goddess wearing a serpent crown.

“We found the statue by chance. It was full of mud and we washed it with water,” said farmer Nidal Abu Eid, whose head was found while cultivating his field.

“We realized it was a precious thing, but we didn’t know it had such great archaeological value,” he told the BBC. “We thank God and we are proud that he has remained in our land in Palestine since the time of the Canaanites.”

A statue of Anat – one of the most famous of the Canaanite deities – is now on display at the Pasha Palace, a historic building that is one of the few museums in Gaza.

The artifact was revealed in a press conference on Tuesday (26/4) Jamal Abu Rida from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in the Department of agitationThe statue is “weatherproof” and has been carefully examined by experts.

He said this brings a political lesson.

“Such discoveries prove that Palestine has a civilization and a history, and no one can deny or falsify this history,” he said. This is the Palestinian people and their ancient Canaanite civilization.

Not all archaeological finds in Gaza have been valued in the same way.

The agitation He had previously been accused of destroying the ruins of a large fortified Canaanite city, Tel al-Sakan, to make way for the construction of residential and military bases south of Gaza City.

A man-sized ancient bronze hunter of the Greek god Apollo was discovered in 2013, but then mysteriously disappeared.

However, this year agitation He reopened the remains of a 5th-century Byzantine church after foreign donors helped pay for a year-old restoration project.

Work on a construction site in northern Gaza was also halted when 31 tombs from the Roman era were found.

While these ancient sites may attract foreign visitors, there is almost no tourism industry.

Israel and Egypt severely restrict the flow of people to and from Gaza, home to some 2.3 million Palestinians, citing security concerns.