The 3,000-year-old head statue made the archaeologists confused

The porcelain sculpture of the head of a man wearing a gold crown found in Israel became a mystery to archaeologists.

the first part of a king dating to nearly 3,000 years made the researcher confused because he did not know the work that simulated the face of anyone, Guardian reported yesterday. The 5cm tall statue is a rare example of visual art in Israel in the 9th century BC, a period associated with biblical kings. The statue is in good condition but lacks a beard corner and has never had a similar specimen found before.

The 3,000-year-old head statue is found in the Israeli town.(Photo: AP).

Although scholars are sure the statue of the golden crown represents the royal family, they are not sure which king he represents or which kingdom he reigns. The archaeological group found the statue in 2017 during an excavation at the site of Abel Beth Maacah, located in the south where the border between Israel and Lebanon, near the town of Metula today.

In the 9th century BC, this ancient town was located in the intersection of three forces including the Aramean kingdom in the east with the capital of Damascus, the city of Tire of the Phenicia civilization and the kingdom of Israel in the south. with the capital is Samaria. Abel Beth Maacah is on the list of cities attacked by Aramean King Ben Hadad during the campaign against the kingdom of Israel.

'This position is very important because it shows that the region may have gone through the political and capable forces between Aram-Damascus and Israel' , archaeologist Naama Yahalom-Mack at Jewish University, who directed excavations in cooperation with Azusa Pacific University in California, USA, said.

When Yahalom-Mack's team dug through the great Iron Age building in the summer of 2017, a volunteer discovered the statue. The work is made of porcelain, the prevailing material for making jewelry, statues and small animals in Egypt and Near East. "The color of the face is green due to the dye from copper," said Yahalom-Mack.

Due to carbon radiation does not help determine the exact birth time of the statue in the 9th century BC, the scope of potential candidates is huge. Yahalom-Mack speculated that the statue could describe King Ben Hadad or Hazael of Damascus, Ahab or Jehu of Israel, Ithobaal of Tire, all characters mentioned in.