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Goddess of war
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Dating from 4,500 years ago and topped with a crown resembling the head of a serpent, this striking stone statue of a goddess was discovered by a farmer tending his land in the Gaza Strip. The 22cm-high Bronze Age carving was found by chance by Nidal Abu Eid in the south of the strip. It depicts Anat, a war goddess of the ancient Canaanite civilisation which, at its zenith, spanned what is now Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria. Because the area was a key trading route for a succession of ancient cultures, it has since yielded a host of archaeological treasures – a fact complicated by the political and military tensions that have characterised its more recent history. Despite the risks that the conflict poses to heritage sites in the region, this statue, at least, looks set to be saved for the future. It’s now on display at Qasr alBasha, a historic building in the Old City of Gaza that also acts as one of the strip’s few museums.
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