Bauer finds 4,500-year-old statue of goddess

A Palestinian farmer found a rare 4,500-year-old stone sculpture while tilling his land in the southern Gaza Strip, ruling Hamas authorities said on Monday.

The Department of Tourism and Antiquities said the 22-centimeter (6.7-inch) high limestone head is said to represent the Canaanite goddess Anat and is dated to around 2,500 BC. be dated

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

Gaza, a narrow enclave on the Mediterranean Sea, boasts a treasure trove of antiquities and archaeological sites, having been an important land route connecting ancient civilizations in Egypt, the Levant and Mesopotamia.