A 2024 study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology examines a faience head of a bearded male found at Tel Abel Beth Maacah, proposing it represents an elite or royal figure and was likely part of a full-body statuette placed in a cultic setting.
Authored by Naama Yahalom-Mack, Debi V. Ben-Ami, Nava Panitz-Cohen, Robert A. Mullins, Vlad Brumfeld, and Adi Eliyahu-Behar, the study analyzes the artifact’s iconography, technology, and archaeological context. The head, measuring 5.4 cm in height, was found in a ninth-century BCE context within a casemate compound at the site, located on the Israel-Lebanese border.
“The faience head combines the requisite qualities of material, workmanship, colour, and brightness, upgrading the figure’s status to that of an elite male,” the authors wrote. Distinctive features include an elaborate striped headband, black-painted beard and hair, and tightly pursed lips. Chemical analysis confirmed the use of copper oxide for the green glaze and manganese for the black pigments.
Comparisons to other Iron Age faience heads from Tel Dan and Tel Yoqneʿam, as well as depictions of elite figures in Phoenician and Aramean art, highlighted shared features like black facial hair and headbands. However, the study noted the Tel Abel Beth Maacah head stood out due to its technical quality and the symbolic use of yellow, possibly representing gold.
The researchers suggested the head was once attached to a large statuette, estimated between 22–27 cm in height, representing an idealized elite or royal figure. “We propose that the ABM statuette was a votive, standing in for a worshipper in a cultic room,” they wrote.
The head was found near a semi-circular stone installation within the citadel complex, alongside imported Phoenician pottery and other prestige items. While the city’s political affiliation remains unclear, the authors argued that the statuette reflects a shared regional iconography of power rather than direct political ties. “The figure cannot indicate any specific geo-political affiliation but rather incorporates the interactive nature of the cross-regional cultural koine at this time,” they concluded.
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