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A 3,000-year-old fort was discovered on the Golan Heights which contains a sculpture of mysterious horned figures. And it may have been built by the kingdom of Geshur, an ally of the Israeli king David.
It is located on a small hill overlooking a river that crosses. Israeli archaeologists uncovered the structure while examining the area where a new neighborhood is being built in the Hispin settlement. (The Golan Heights were captured by Israel from Syria in 1967 and its status is disputed; Hispin is an Israeli settlement there.)
According to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the fort probably dates from the 11th or 10th century BC It consists of walls of basalt boulders nearly 5 feet (1.5 m) wide. Among the ruins were beads, pottery, a ring and part of a broken statuette of a woman holding a drum. But the most exciting discovery inside the fort was a large stone carved with two human stick-like figures with outstretched arms. The figures each sport two horns and appear to stand next to an unknown object.
Related: Photo: Ancient rock art sheds light on Israel’s “Middle Ages”
This sculpture resembles another found at another ancient site called et-Tell on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In 2019, archaeologists discovered a single figure similar to Hispin’s carving near the city gate at et-Tell. That stone was similar in age to Hispin’s discovery and could represent a Mesopotamian moon god, archaeologists told Haaretz Magazine earlier this year. The horns on the carvings could represent bull horns, or they could be a representation of the crescent moon on the side.
Exactly how et-Tell was called in ancient times remains a controversial issue, but some archaeologists believe it was Bethsaida, the capital of the kingdom of Geshur. If so, the sculpture found on the Golan Heights could be a copy of the moon god stele at the gates of the kingdom’s capital city, IAA excavation directors Barak Tzin and Enno Bron said in a statement.
According to the IAA, the best known archaeological sites of Geshur are located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee with few known from the Golan region, which is parallel to the sea in the east and northeast. The discovery of the Geshur site in this area raises new questions about the kingdom’s borders in the Iron Age.
Geshur maintained close diplomatic relations with Israel, according to Jewish stories. One of the Biblical King David’s wives was said to be Maacah, the daughter of King Talmi of Geshur.
The ancient fort will be transformed into an outdoor cultural site, according to the IAA.
Originally published in Live Science.
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