Ancient goddess sculpture found by farmer in Gaza Strip

Mon, April 25, 2022

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Palestinian farmer found a rare 4,500-year-old stone sculpture while working his land in the southern Gaza Strip, ruling Hamas authorities announced Monday.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the 22-centimeter (6.7-inch) tall limestone head is believed to represent the Canaanite goddess Anat and is estimated to be dated to around 2,500 B.C.

“Anat was the goodness of love, beauty, and war in the Canaanite mythology,” said Jamal Abu Rida, the ministry’s director, in a statement.

Gaza, a narrow enclave on the Mediterranean Sea, boasts a trove of antiquities and archaeological sites as it was a major land route connecting ancient civilizations in Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia.

But discovered antiquities frequently disappear and development projects are given priority over the preservation of archaeological sites beneath the urban sprawl needed to accommodate 2.3 million people packed into the densely populated territory.

In 2017, the militant Hamas group, which had seized control of the Gaza Strip a decade earlier, destroyed large parts of a rare Canaanite settlement to make way for a housing development for its own employees.

And to date, a life-size statue of the Greek god Apollo that had surfaced in 2013 and then disappeared has yet to be found.

In January, bulldozers digging for an Egyptian-funded housing project unearthed the ruins of a tomb dating back to the Roman era.

Image: pinterest.com

Anat or Anath is the Canaanite warrior Goddess, the maiden who loves battle, the virgin Goddess of sacrifice, a warrior and archer. She is famous for having a violent temperament and for taking joy in slaughter.

Anat, the Canaanite Goddess of War and Sacrifice

thaliatook.com/AMGG/anat.php

Anath: Bible - Jewish Women's Archive

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/anath-bible

Anath (Anat) is a prominent figure in the Canaanite mythological texts, dating to c. 1400 BCE, discovered at Ugarit on the Syrian coast. She is a maiden/warrior goddess, the sister or consort of the fertility and storm god Baal. She plays a major role in the Ugaritic myths, rescuing Baal from the underworld and defeating Mot, the god of death.

Anat - Ancient Egypt Online

https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/anat

Anat (also known as Anant, Anit, Anti, Anthat and Antit) was an ancient Canaanite 

Anat - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anat

• Overview
• In Egypt
• In Ugarit
• In Mesopotamia
• In Israel
• In Phoenician and Cyprian inscriptions, Athene
• Possible late transfigurations
• See also

Anat is sporadically attested in Egypt since the 18th century BCE, and is found in the name of Anat-her, a fragmentarily attested figure (possibly a Hyksos ruler) of the 12th, 15th or 16th dynasty whose name means "Anat is content" and is taken to indicate Canaanite descent. As a warrior-goddess, Anat was one of several Syrian / northwest Semitic deities who was prominently worshipped by the warrior-pharaohs of the 16th Dynasty. She was often paired with the goddess

Wikipedia · Text under CC-BY-SA license

ANAT Meaning- Palestinian Mythological Goddess – ANAT ...

https://anat-international.com/blogs/news/goddess-anat

2020-02-11 · Anat was a revered Goddess in Canaanite mythology. Before we explain what the Goddess Anat represents, it is integral to first briefly highlight key aspects of Canaanite