What's your special interest/escape from the quagmire.

You have a way with words and I can’t help but be complicit in your avoidance tactics.

Researching Neolithic and Iron Age archaeology in the Levant. Taking my dog to a quiet place and going for a walk. Stopping everything just to look at nature. Reading: Factual during the day e.g., archaeology, anthropology, religion, history, non coercive canine cognition and behaviour management, and fiction in the dark on my kindle before going to sleep. 

I have a few Levantine antiquities: the head of a small Neolithic figurine in pale pottery, a very crude figurine of Tanit (essentially a head and torso) recovered from an Israeli harbour - it has patches of marine concretion, and a Hellenistic era small,  slender, long-necked, earthenware container - probably for perfumed oil or the like - from Palestine.

Israel allows the export of antiquities, if their museums have an adequate number of similar items and they are of no particular academic interest.

I have a few Levantine antiquities: the head of a small Neolithic figurine in pale pottery, a very crude figurine of Tanit (essentially a head and torso) recovered from an Israeli harbour - it has patches of marine concretion, and a Hellenistic era small,  slender, long-necked, earthenware container - probably for perfumed oil or the like - from Palestine.

Israel allows the export of antiquities, if their museums have an adequate number of similar items and they are of no particular academic interest.

Yes, I agree that the pinched heads are fascinating. I love to think of the maker putting his or her mark on the faces and it is as if we can ‘see’ the forefinger and thumb pinching the clay to shape the nose. 

The Judean Pillar Figurines are of two types, of roughly overlapping dates C.800-586BCE, the pinched face and the moulded head, which is as the term suggests was made in a mould and inserted into the pillar shaped body. They were relatively common during the period and were used in the domestic setting, with a significant number of homes having one only figurine. Many archaeologists think they are of the goddess Asherah, but others criticise this view because the evidence isn’t strongly in favour of such a definitive function.

The Syrian figurine I have at the minute is also a pinched head type. I spend hours staring at her, willing her to reveal her intended function. 

The construction of the small Neolithic head is fascinating. It can be seen that the nose was formed by pinching the clay between thumb and finger, and the eyes by rolling small pellets of clay, squashing them onto the face then indenting them with a thumb nail.

That’s intriguing. The meaning and function of the Tanit fìgurine is an on going debate, and some archaeologists have suggested the figurines might not represent the Phoenician god Tanit, rather they could be an object reflective of the cult of Tanit and Baal, and used as a sacrifice in a ritual offering. 

Many figurines for sale in that part of the world, have been looted but yes you can still export from Israel with the correct certification. Unfortunately, those who sell figurines know that buyers will pay premium prices for ancient artefacts and this encourages a trade in looting from archaeological sites. Shops in the Israeli quarter of Old Jerusalem sell looted figurines quite legally and openly, but tend to give fake information of their origin, imprecise information of find location, or inaccurate details. Honest people unwittingly buy these items. For years, Israeli archaeologists have been seeking, unsuccessfully, to get this sort of thing made illegal because when artefacts are removed and haven’t been recorded in situ, historical and cultural information is lost forever. Hopefully your Tanit figurine hasn’t been looted from the seabed, and will have been recorded in situ before being passed on to you. 

I have one replica Neolithic Yarmukian Figurine from Sh’ar Hagolan - it is my most treasured possession. It was made on site beside the River Yarmuk by a student using experimental archaeology techniques, and it’s an amazingly fine replica. The clay was from the surrounding River Yarmuk area. I also have a replica Iron Age IIA Judean Pillar Figurine. On loan, a Neolithic Syrian Halaf figurine, with remnants of decorative paint markings, is sitting on my bookcase. It will be going to a museum in a while. Thinking about this — I need to change my profile image to something more reflective of me.