Region: Palestine: Megiddo Origin: Excavated by the Oriental Institute, 1935-6 Accession: OIM A18316 Period: Stratum VII or VI, Late Bronze Age II, ca. 1350-1200 B.C. Materials: Gilded bronze Dimensions:
H. 25.4cm
This statuette of a god may have been the cult figure in the Canaanite temple in the ruins of which it was found. Cast in bronze and covered with gold leaf, it is an idol of the type forbidden by the much later Hebrew prophets. The identity of this bearded and enthroned deity is uncertain but is most likely to be El-the chief god of the pantheon and father of the other gods.
