Carved in soft limestone, the head probably represents the goddess Astarte. Some of the ivory inlay remains in the eyes, while black stones line the eyelids and cornea of the eye. A band of gem beads is carved on both foreheads .On reverse are engraved the Ammonite letters b and s, while on the eye of the face on reveres is a sign resembling the Egyptian word nfr, encircled by two uraei (Egyptian cobras). The three holes on the collar were probably originally intended for inlaid garment decorations or necklaces, possibly in ivory.

Four such heads were discovered together during archaeological excavations in 1968. They have mortice holes on the top and bottom and were probably set on a pivot each in the windows of an Ammonite temple at the Amman Citadel, to give a chance to devotees praying outside to see one face, while the priests in the holy interior section prohibited to common people could see the other face from inside.

The form and probably function as well of these heads bring to mind the famous Nimrud ivories from Iraq called “Woman at the Window”, and the style is very similar to the Syrian-Phoenician carved ivories.

Site: Amman Citadel

Period: Iron Age II, around 600 B.C.