A statue carved in stone of an ancient goddess of beauty, love and war was found in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian archaeologists say that it is the representation of the goddess Canaanite Anat and dating back 4 31 years ago, the Late Bronze Age.
The discovery was made by a farmer digging on his land at Kahn Younis. in the south of the strip.
The comments in the social networks allude to the apt association of the goddess with war.
In recent years, there have been a series of devastating clashes as a result of the conflict between Israel and militia groups in Gaza, a Palestinian territory that it is ruled by Hamas.
However, the discovery of the limestone statue highlights how this territory -part of an important trade route for a series of ancient civilizations- was originally a Canaanite settlement.
The carved sculpture of 22 centimeters high clearly shows the face of the goddess with a serpent crown.
“We found it by chance. It was muddy and we cleaned it with water”, said farmer Nidal Abu Eid, who was the one who bumped into his head while cultivating his field.
“We realized that it was a precious thing, but we didn’t we knew it had so much archaeological value,” he told the BBC.
“We thank God and we are proud that he remained in our land, in Palestine, since Canaanite times.”
The statue of Anat -one of the most recognized Canaanite deities – is now on display at Qasr al Basha, a historic building that houses one of the few museums in Gaza.
Once an important trade route for ancient civilizations, Gaza is home to numerous archaeological treasures.
At a press conference for the unveiling of the piece on Tuesday, Jamal Abu Rida, from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiques -adm instituted by Hamas, said the statue had “withstood the test of time” and had been carefully examined by experts.
He pointed out that he was sending a political message.
“These discoveries prove that Palestine has a civilization and a history, and no one can deny or falsify this history,” he declared. “This represents the Palestinian people and their ancient Canaanite civilization.”
Not all the archaeological discoveries in Gaza have received as much appreciation or fared so well.
Hamas -a militant Islamist organization- has previously been accused of destroying the remains of a large Canaanite fortified village, Tell al Sakan, to build residences and military bases in the south of the highly populated Gaza City.
A bronze statue and natural size of the Greek god Apollo was discovered by a fisherman in 2013, but then it mysteriously disappeared.
However, this year Hamas reopened the archaeological site of a 5th-century Byzantine church, after donors helped pay for a years-long restoration project.
Construction work in northern Gaza was also halted when discovered 31 tombs from Roman times in the place.
Although these ancient sites could potentially be points of attraction for foreign tourists, Gaza has virtually no tourism industry.
Israel and Egypt rigidly control movement of people leaving or entering the impoverished coastal enclave, which is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, citing security concerns.
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