São Paulo – A stone statuette over 4,500-years-old was found by a Palestinian farmer working his land in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The statuette (pictured) depicts the face of Anat, one of the best-known Canaanite deities, goddess of love and war, archaeological authorities in the Palestinian city of Gaza announced Monday (25).
Carved out of limestone and 22 centimeters long, the 2500 BC statuette was uncovered on what was an important overland trade route for several civilizations that lived in the region, according to Jamal Abu Reda, in charge of antiquities at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Gaza.
The find was the latest in the Gaza Strip, where tourism at archaeological sites is limited due to an Israeli blockade imposed since the militant group Hamas took over the enclave in 2007. Gaza is home to about 2.3 million Palestinians.
In January, Hamas reopened the remains of a fifth-century Byzantine church following a years-long restoration effort backed by foreign donors. In February, workers at a construction site in northern Gaza discovered 31 Roman-era tombs dating to the first century AD.
*With information from Arab News.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
