This damaged sculpture was discovered in the ancient city of Hazor in Israel. It dates back to the mid-thirteenth century BCE at a time when the Ancient Egyptian Empire had provinces both in Retjenu and Canaan. The Pharaoh depicted in the bust has coiled hair worn in a style commonly referred to as "the short twist”, and wears a diadem decorated by a single Uraeus. The “cap crown” of this unnamed Pharaoh is similar to the Diadem of Tutankhamun discovered amongst his vast treasures. While some scholars claim that the statue is depicted wearing a wig, this claim is unsubstantiated as no such wigs have been discovered in over a century and a half of excavations.
The head was carved from graywacke which is a metamorphic rock quarried exclusively at the site of Wadi Hammamat, which is dry river bed in Egypt's Eastern Desert. This particular stone was used to create Egyptian sculptures since the predynastic period. The statue is thought to have been smashed when Hazor was destroyed around 1233 BCE according to the archaeological record, possibly by an Israelite force led by Joshua. A passage from the Book of Joshua in the Bible claims that Joshua's force destroyed and sacked the city of Hazor.
Joshua 11:11-23 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
The anthropological record of Hazor's destruction around 1233 BCE coincides with the biblical account. A thick layer of burned debris across the site, indicating a violent and widespread conflagration, with evidence of destroyed buildings, charred pottery, and a particularly intense fire within the palace area, which archaeologists attribute to the city's conquest and destruction, likely by the Israelites as described in the Bible, however, the exact identity of the destroyers remains a topic of scholarly debate. This account is eerily reminiscent of the Siege of Lachish which would take place in 701 BCE by the hands of the Assyrians shortly before the infamous “Sack of Thebes”. A team of archaeologists put together a report and detailed the discovery of Egyptian artifacts discovered at the site.
“A number of Egyptian statues have also been discovered at Hazor, including one found in 2013 that has the paws of a sphinx. Given Hazor's location in northern Israel, the number of Egyptian statues and statuary fragments uncovered at the site is surprising”, a team of scholars wrote in another report published in the book. “All statues appear to have been deliberately smashed to pieces", wrote Egyptologists Dimitri Laboury and Simon Connor.
A Royal Head from Hazor: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366781257_A_Royal_Head_from_Hazor
The discussion of Egypt’s presence in the Near East has been ongoing for some time now. Herodotus sheds further light on the exploits of the Egyptians and Kushites in Palestine and Thrace, offering insights into their interactions and significance in the region.
“Herodotus saw and describes these monuments first in Palestine, and afterwards two rock-monuments in Asia Minor, the situation of which he minutely particularizes; the statue of an armed man in Egyptian and Ethiopian adornments, with an inscription in hieroglyphics on the breast, signifying, ‘I have occupied this country.’ Further, his monuments were seen in Thrace, but not beyond; for here he turned back.”
Historical Researches Into the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of the Carthaginians, Ethiopians and Egyptians”, pg 428-430, 1857
Projecting Prestige: Egyptian Statues from Canaanite Hazor:
Description: Hazor, Pharaoh, 20th Dynasty
Date: 1188 BCE–1069 BCE
Museum: Jerusalem, Israel Museum
Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal
Linked: 20th Dynasty (Ramessids), Wen-Amun
Categories: Egypt, Near East
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