Was a 'mistress of the lionesses' a king in ancient
Canaan?
This is an illustration of the plaque found by Tel Aviv
University researchers at Tel Beit Shemesh in 2008. Credit:
AFTAU
The legend is that the great rulers of Canaan, the ancient land
of Israel, were all men. But a recent dig by Tel Aviv University
archaeologists at Tel Beth-Shemesh uncovered possible evidence of a
mysterious female ruler.
Tel Aviv University archaeologists Prof. Shlomo Bunimovitz and Dr.
Zvi Lederman of the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near
Eastern Civilizations have uncovered an unusual ceramic plaque of a
goddess in female dress, suggesting that a mighty female "king" may
have ruled the city. If true, they say, the plaque would depict the
only known female ruler of the region.
The plaque itself depicts a figure dressed as royal male figures
and deities once appeared in Egyptian and Canaanite art. The
figure's hairstyle, though, is womanly and its bent arms are
holding lotus flowers – attributes given to women. This plaque, art
historians suggest, may be an artistic representation of the
"Mistress of the Lionesses," a female Canaanite ruler who was known
to have sent distress letters to the Pharaoh in Egypt reporting
unrest and destruction in her kingdom.
"We took this finding to an art historian who confirmed our
hypothesis that the figure was a female," says Dr. Lederman.
"Obviously something very different was happening in this city. We
may have found the 'Mistress of the Lionesses' who'd been sending
letters from Canaan to Egypt. The destruction we uncovered at the
site last summer, along with the plaque, may just be the key to the
puzzle."
A Lady Ruler in Pre-Exodus Canaan
Around 1350 BCE, there was unrest in the region. Canaanite kings
conveyed their fears via clay tablet letters to the Pharaoh in
Egypt, requesting military help. But among all the correspondence
by kings were two rare letters that stuck out among the 382 el
Amarna tablets uncovered a few decades ago by Egyptian farmers. The
two letters came from a "Mistress of the Lionesses" in Canaan. She
wrote that bands of rough people and rebels had entered the region,
and that her city might not be safe. Because the el-Amarna tablets
were found in Egypt rather than Canaan, historians have tried to
trace the origin of the tablets.
"The big question became, 'What city did she rule?'" Dr. Lederman
and Prof. Bunimovitz say. The archaeologists believe that she ruled
as king (rather than "queen," which at the time described the wife
of a male king) over a city of about 1,500 residents. A few years
ago, Tel Aviv University's Prof. Nadav Naaman suggested that she
might have ruled the city of Beth Shemesh. But there has been no
proof until now.
"The city had been violently destroyed, in a way we rarely see in
archaeology," says Prof. Bunimovitz, who points to many exotic
finds buried under the destruction, including an Egyptian royal
seal, bronze arrowheads and complete large storage vessels. They
suggest a large and important city-state, well enmeshed within East
Mediterranean geo-political and economic networks.
Time for a New Interpretation of Biblical History?
Tel Aviv University archaeologists say that the new finds might
turn the interpretation of pre-biblical history on its head. The
people of the time were pagans who had a very elaborate religious
system.
"It was a very well-to-do city," says Lederman. "Strangely, such
extensive destruction, like what we found in our most recent dig,
is a great joy for archaeologists because people would not have had
time to take their belongings. They left everything in their
houses. The site is loaded with finds," he says, adding that the
expensive items found in the recent level points to it as one the
most important inland Canaanite cities.
The discovery of the plaque, and the evidence of destruction
recorded in the el-Amarna tablets, could confirm that the woman
depicted in the figurine was the mysterious "Mistress of the
Lionesses" and ruled Canaanite Beth Shemesh. "There is no evidence
of other females ruling a major city in this capacity," Lederman
and Bunimovitz say. "She is the only one. We really hope to find
out more about her this summer."
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American Friends of Tel Aviv University. Thanks to American Friends
of Tel Aviv University for this article.