Israeli archaeologists have discovered a sculpture of the head of an unknown king, whose age reaches three thousand years. This was announced in a press release on Phys.org.
The artifact was found in 2017 during excavations at the Abel Beit Maaka site, located south of the Israeli-Lebanese border, near the city of Metula. In the 9th century BC, this place was located between Aramaic Damascus, the Phoenician city of Sur and the Kingdom of Israel with the capital Shomron. The sculpture, five centimeters high, is made of earthenware, which was widely used in ancient Egypt and the Middle East as a decoration material.
According to scientists, the artifact depicts a Middle Eastern Semitic king, as indicated by the characteristic hairstyle: the hair is combed back and held by a diadem, and the ears are covered with thick curls. It is known that the ancient Egyptians similarly depicted people living in the neighborhood in the East. However, researchers do not know exactly which king is depicted in the sculpture, suggesting that it could be one of the five rulers - Bar Hadad or Hazael, who ruled in Damascus, Ahab or Jehu (Israel) or Itobaal (Sur).
It is known that the Book of Kings mentions the attack of Bar Hadad on Abel Beit Maak, when the Aramaic king organized a campaign against the Kingdom of Israel.
According to scientists, the head can only be part of the statue. Archaeologists are set to resume excavations this month to find new artifacts.