ガザの女神 - Living, Loving, Thinking, Again

Yolande Knell “Gaza farmer finds 4,500-year-old statue of Canaanite goddess” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-61228553

パレスティナのガザ*1南部のKhan Younisで或る農民が自分の土地を掘っていたところ、高さ22cmの青銅の像を掘り当てた。これはカナン文明の女神Anat*2の像であり、4500年前、青銅器時代後期のものと推定されている。
さて、パレスティナのハマス政権の古代（異教時代）の文物に対する態度は柔軟化しているようだ；

Unveiling the artefact at a press conference on Tuesday, Jamal Abu Rida of the Hamas-run Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the statue was "resistant against time" and had been carefully examined by experts.
He said that it made a political point.
"Such discoveries prove that Palestine has civilisation and history, and no-one can deny or falsify this history," he said. "This is the Palestinian people and their ancient Canaanite civilisation."
Not all archaeological finds in Gaza have been so highly appreciated or fared so well.
Hamas - an Islamist, militant organisation - has previously been accused of destroying the remains of a large, fortified Canaanite town, Tell al-Sakan, to make way for housing and military bases south of highly populated Gaza City.
An ancient man-sized bronze of the Greek god Apollo was discovered by a fisherman in 2013, but later disappeared mysteriously*3.
However, this year Hamas reopened the remains of a 5th Century Byzantine church after foreign donors helped pay for a years-long restoration project.
Work also stopped at a building site in northern Gaza when 31 Roman-era tombs were found there.

*2:See eg. Thalia Took “Anat” http://www.thaliatook.com/AMGG/anat.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anat

*3:Shahdi Alkashif “The Apollo of Gaza: One fisherman's amazing catch” https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26275578