The lime head of Anat, the goddess of love, beauty and war. An important quest for Palestinian culture. Photo: AFP
A Palestinian farmer in the Gaza Strip discovers the head of a 4,500 -year -old statue depicting Anat, the Canaanite goddess of beauty, love and war, as reported today by the enclave’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
The discovery took place in the southern zone of the Strip, in the city of Jan Youniswhere Nidal Abu Eid was cultivating his fields when he found the statue.
This is 22 centimeters high and made of limestone. The head, already on display in a museum in the enclave, was found no corpse and there is a crown of serpents believed to have been used by the gods as a symbol of strength and invincibility.
The statuette dates back 2,500 years before Christ. It is found in the city of Jan Younis. Photo: AFP
As the ministry now reports, the statue was erected in 2,500 BC. C. (Bronze Age) and represents the goddess Anath, one of the most important of the Canaanites.
This town was one of the first settlers in this region, with over 4,500 years of history and also formerly under Egyptian, Philistine, Assyrian control (730 BC), among many others, until incorporation into the Roman Republic in 63 BC. c.
According to Jamal Abu Reida |director general of the ministry, archaeological findings such as this one “show historical rights of the Palestinian people on its territory ”, in addition to the“ heritage of its ancient civilization ”.
The search for Anat’s head adds to the discovery of a Roman cemetery north of Gaza in February. Photo: AFP
This discovery joins several others in recent years, including one in February this year where the ruins of a cemetery of the Romans during the construction of a house in northern Gaza.
For thousands of years the Strip has been a point of work and passing different people and armiesbecause it allowed crossing from the northern part of the Middle East to its southern area.
Besides, connects the Sinai Peninsula and Egypt with what is now Israel, which made possible passage through Syria and Mesopotamia. EFE
Source: Clarin
