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http://ancientworldbloggers.Jerusalem, July 9, 2013 — At a site in Tel Hazor National Park, north of the Sea of Galilee, archeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have unearthed part of a unique Sphinx belonging to one of the ancient pyramid-building pharaohs.Two views of a Sphinx statue fragment found by Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeologists at the Tel Hazor excavations north of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. An inscription ties the Sphinx to Mycerinus, an Egyptian king and pyramid builder, circa 2500 BCE. This is the only known statue bearing this pharaoh's name. (Photo courtesy archaeologists Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman)The Hazor Excavations are headed by Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor, the Yigael Yadin Professor in the Archaeology of Eretz Israel at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman, a lecturer at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology.Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman of the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, who are leading the Hazor Excavations (Photo courtesy archaeologists Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman)Reporters can reach the archaeologists for comment at 054-5928111 (Dr. Zuckerman) or 054-4643180 (Prof. Ben-Tor). Please note that Israel time is currently UTC/GMT +3 hours (7 hours ahead of New York). For international calls to Israel, replace the first 0 with +972-.As the only known Sphinx of the king Mycerinus discovered anywhere in the world — including in Egypt — the find at Hazor is an unexpected and important discovery. Moreover, it is only piece of a royal Sphinx sculpture discovered in the entire Levant area (the eastern part of the Mediterranean).Along with the king’s name, the hieroglyphic inscription includes the descriptor “Beloved by the divine manifestation… that gave him eternal life.” According to Prof. Ben-Tor and Dr. Zuckerman, this text indicates that the Sphinx probably originated in the ancient city of Heliopolis (the city of 'On' in the Bible), north of modern Cairo.
or more information:Dov SmithHebrew University Foreign Press Liaison02-5882844 / 054-8820860 (+972-54-8820860)
Part of Egyptian Sphinx found in Northern Dig
Artifact bears the name of Mycerinus, the king who was one of the builders of the Giza pyramids.
Arutz Sheva
First Publish: 7/9/2013, 2:41 PM
Sphinx's feet
Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman
As modern Egypt searches for a new leader, Israeli archaeologists have found evidence of an ancient Egyptian leader in northern Israel.
At a site in Tel Hazor National Park, north of the Sea of Galilee, archeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have unearthed part of a unique Sphinx belonging to one of the ancient pyramid-building pharaohs.
The Hazor Excavations are headed by Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor, the Yigael Yadin Professor in the Archaeology of Eretz Israel at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman, a lecturer at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology.
Working with a team from the Institute of Archaeology, they discovered part of a Sphinx brought over from Egypt, with a hieroglyphic inscription between its front legs. The inscription bears the name of the Egyptian king Mycerinus, who ruled in the third millennium BCE, more than 4,000 years ago. The king was one of the builders of the famous Giza pyramids.
As the only known Sphinx of this king discovered anywhere in the world — including in Egypt — the find at Hazor is an unexpected and important discovery. Moreover, it is only piece of a royal Sphinx sculpture discovered in the entire Levant area (the eastern part of the Mediterranean).
Along with the king’s name, the hieroglyphic inscription includes the descriptor “Beloved by the divine manifestation… that gave him eternal life.” According to Prof. Ben-Tor and Dr. Zuckerman, this text indicates that the Sphinx probably originated in the ancient city of Heliopolis (the city of 'On' in the Bible), north of modern Cairo.
The Sphinx was discovered in the destruction layer of Hazor that was destroyed during the 13th century BCE, at the entrance to the city palace. According to the archaeologists, it is highly unlikely that the Sphinx was brought to Hazor during the time of Mycerinus, since there is no record of any relationship between Egypt and Israel in the third millennium BCE.
More likely, the statue was brought to Israel in the second millennium BCE during the dynasty of the kings known as the Hyksos, who originated in Canaan. It could also have arrived during the 15th to 13th centuries BCE, when Canaan was under Egyptian rule, as a gift from an Egyptian king to the king of Hazor, which was the most important city in the southern Levant at the time.
Hazor is the largest biblical-era site in Israel, covering some 200 acres, and has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The population of Hazor in the second millennium BCE is estimated to have been about 20,000, making it the largest and most important city in the entire region. Its size and strategic location on the route connecting Egypt and Babylon made it "the head of all those kingdoms" according to the biblical book of Joshua (Joshua 11:10).
Hazor's conquest by the Israelites opened the way to the conquest and settlement of the Israelites in Canaan. The city was rebuilt and fortified by King Solomon and prospered in the days of Ahab and Jeroboam II, until its final destruction by the Assyrians in 732 BCE.
Documents discovered at Hazor and at sites in Egypt and Iraq attest that Hazor maintained cultural and trade relations with both Egypt and Babylon. Artistic artifacts, including those imported to Hazor from near and far, have been unearthed at the site. Hazor is currently one of Israel's national parks.
The Hebrew University began the Hazor excavation in the mid-1950s and continued them in the late 1960s. Excavations at the site were resumed in 1990 by Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor, who was joined in 2006 by Dr. Sharon Zuckerman, as part of the Selz Foundation Hazor Excavations in Memory of Yigael Yadin. The present excavation area is managed by Shlomit Becher, a doctoral student of the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, and is sponsored by the Israel Exploration Society (IES) in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013, 9:44 AM
At a site in Tel Hazor National Park, north of the Sea of Galilee, archeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have unearthed part of a unique Sphinx belonging to one of the ancient pyramid-building pharaohs.
The Hazor Excavations are headed by Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor, the Yigael Yadin Professor in the Archaeology of Eretz Israel at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman, a lecturer at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology.
Working with a team from the Institute of Archaeology, they discovered part of a Sphinx brought over from Egypt, with a hieroglyphic inscription between its front legs. The inscription bears the name of the Egyptian king Mycerinus, who ruled in the third millennium BCE, more than 4,000 years ago. The king was one of the builders of the famous Giza pyramids.
As the only known Sphinx of this king discovered anywhere in the world — including in Egypt — the find at Hazor is an unexpected and important discovery. Moreover, it is only piece of a royal Sphinx sculpture discovered in the entire Levant area (the eastern part of the Mediterranean).
Along with the king’s name, the hieroglyphic inscription includes the descriptor “Beloved by the divine manifestation… that gave him eternal life.” According to Prof. Ben-Tor and Dr. Zuckerman, this text indicates that the Sphinx probably originated in the ancient city of Heliopolis (the city of 'On' in the Bible), north of modern Cairo.
The Sphinx was discovered in the destruction layer of Hazor that was destroyed during the 13th century BCE, at the entrance to the city palace. According to the archaeologists, it is highly unlikely that the Sphinx was brought to Hazor during the time of Mycerinus, since there is no record of any relationship between Egypt and Israel in the third millennium BCE.
More likely, the statue was brought to Israel in the second millennium BCE during the dynasty of the kings known as the Hyksos, who originated in Canaan. It could also have arrived during the 15th to 13th centuries BCE, when Canaan was under Egyptian rule, as a gift from an Egyptian king to the king of Hazor, which was the most important city in the southern Levant at the time.
Hazor is the largest biblical-era site in Israel, covering some 200 acres, and has been recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The population of Hazor in the second millennium BCE is estimated to have been about 20,000, making it the largest and most important city in the entire region. Its size and strategic location on the route connecting Egypt and Babylon made it "the head of all those kingdoms" according to the biblical book of Joshua (Joshua 11:10).
Hazor's conquest by the Israelites opened the way to the conquest and settlement of the Israelites in Canaan. The city was rebuilt and fortified by King Solomon and prospered in the days of Ahab and Jeroboam II, until its final destruction by the Assyrians in 732 BCE.
Documents discovered at Hazor and at sites in Egypt and Iraq attest that Hazor maintained cultural and trade relations with both Egypt and Babylon. Artistic artifacts, including those imported to Hazor from near and far, have been unearthed at the site. Hazor is currently one of Israel's national parks.
The Hebrew University began the Hazor excavation in the mid-1950s and continued them in the late 1960s. Excavations at the site were resumed in 1990 by Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor, who was joined in 2006 by Dr. Sharon Zuckerman, as part of the Selz Foundation Hazor Excavations in Memory of Yigael Yadin. The present excavation area is managed by Shlomit Becher, a doctoral student of the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology, and is sponsored by the Israel Exploration Society (IES) in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
http://www.israelnationalnews.
Archeologists unearth mighty Egyptian Sphinx dating 4,000 years in Israel
Researchers believe the large granite paws of the mythical beast belonged to the Pharaoh Mycerinus of the third millennium B.C. How they ended up at the Tel Hazor excavation site is a mystery.
Comments (4)BY NINA GOLGOWSKI / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2013, 9:44 AM
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Australian excavation volunteer Joshua Talbot displays the remains of an Egyptian Sphinx believed to have belonged to Pharoh Mycerinus who ruled more than 4,000 years ago.
As modern-day Egypt breaks ground in its second revolution in just several years, pieces of one of the country's former rulers dating more than 4,000 years have resurfaced.
An ancient Sphinx believed to have belonged to Egyptian Pharaoh Mycerinus in the third millennium B.C. has been discovered by archaeologists in Israel of all places.
COURTESY PROF. AMNON BEN-TOR AND DR. SHARON ZUCKERMAN
The stunning relic, seen with Mycerinus' name inscribed between the two paws, was recently discovered in northern Israel but researchers aren't entirely sure how it got there so many years ago.
Excavations at Tel Hazor, in northern Israel, have uncovered a pair of large granite paws and pieces of the mythical creature's forearms, archeologists at Hebrew University in Jerusalem announced Tuesday.
COURTESY PROF. AMNON BEN-TOR AND
One theory is that the Sphinx was plundered by the Canaanites before making its way to the modern-day excavation site.
The name of Mycerinus, a pharaoh responsible for building one of the Giza pyramids in 2,500 B.C., is seen chiseled in hieroglyphics down the heavy 40-pound stone. It's said to be the first relic found bearing his name.
The inscription describes him as "beloved by the divine manifestation … that gave him eternal life," according to Hebrew Professor Amnon Ben-Tor who used that text to speculate that the Sphinx originated from the ancient city of Heliopolis, north of modern Cairo.
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Another theory is that the statue was gifted by the King of Hazor in the 15 to 13 centuries B.C.before found at the excavation site of Tel Hazor, north of Tel Aviv.
Archaeologists estimate the entire statue was 5 feet tall, 1.5-feet long and weighed about 500 pounds.
COURTESY PROF. AMNON BEN-TOR AND DR. SHARON ZUCKERMAN
Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman of the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology are leading the Tel-Hazor dig.
But what they don't know is how it got to where it was found.
With no known relationship between Egypt and that area of Israel during Mycerinus' rule, researchers do not believe the Sphinx left Egypt until much later. But the team of archaeologists, led by Professor Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman, has already picked out a few theories.
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Talbot displays the remains of the Sphinx with a hieroglyphic inscription between its paws dating circa the third century B.C.
One is that the statue was gifted by the King of Hazor in the 15 to 13 centuries B.C. Hazor would become the largest and most important city in the region in the second millennium B.C. Resting between Egypt and Babylon, it was referred to in the Bible as "the head of those kingdoms."
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The ancient city of Hazor was destroyed in the 13th century B.C., with its remains buried beneath.
Another theory is that it was plundered by the Canaanites who ruled lower Egypt in the late 17th and early 16th century B.C. It’s speculated the statue then made its way to the city of Hazor — today’s excavation site — which was brutally destroyed in the 13th century B.C.
Because of the pillage, Ben-Tor described the statue's discovery, even though not fully intact, as particularly remarkable with so much of the city annihilated during its foreign occupation.
Speaking to the Haaretz newspaper he compared the monument as being no different to the statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled after his fall in Iraq.
Like today, all symbols of the former regime had to go.