15 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

7500-year-old idol of Goddess Asherah located in Israel

Archaeologists excavating an ancient cemetery in Israel have discovered an idol they believe belongs to the goddess Ashera at a place of worship that is at least 7,500 years old.

Found during excavations on a mountainside near Eilat, Israel’s southernmost city at the northern tip of the Red Sea, the site was first discovered in 1978 and excavated as a salvage excavation before the city’s westward expansion in the late 1980s. But it took take three decades years to analyze the findings and publish the articles.

Archaeologists found here the remains of a cemetery that extends far back into antiquity. They also found other ruins and markers that show this location was an important place of worship long ago.

This particular site was constructed approximately 7,500 years old and was dedicated to the goddess Asherah, who in later times was worshipped as the wife of Israel’s creator god Yahweh.

The excavation was carried out by Israel Hershkovitz and Uzi Avner, who found 11 simple graves, 20 tumulus tombs, two areas identified as open-air sanctuaries, and a cultic installation.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The site today overlooks the city. Photo: Viktoria Greenboim
The site today overlooks the city. Photo: Viktoria Greenboim

The Archaeologists also found beads from afar, made of exotic materials including the earliest-ever examples of faience and of steatite found in the Levant.

The cemetery overlooking the modern city had been in use for over a thousand years, in the sixth and the fifth millennia B.C.E. (c. 5450 – 4250 B.C.E.), according to finds and radiocarbon dating of charcoal found at the site.

The Remains of a Juniper Tree Trunk

Two installations were discovered by archaeologists east of two of the burials. One was 70 cm into the ground level and paved with little flagstones. The remnants of a juniper tree trunk were discovered on this pavement by archaeologists. The wooden relic is  11 inç (30 cm) tall and was found still standing upright. The trunk had probably been brought to the site from the Edomite mountains, in today’s Jordan.

Juniper trunk from a tomb in Eilat: may be the oldest “Asherah” ever discovered in the Near East. Photo: Uzi Avner

This type of sacred wooden relic has been recovered from other archaeological sites in the Levant region, and it is known to represent the fertility goddess in all of her  By various names such as Asherah, Qudshu, Elath (she was referred to as Ashera in the Bible).

The presence of the juniper tree trunk makes it clear the site was reserved for goddess worship, and it is easily the oldest surviving Asherah idol found anywhere in the region (it was carbon dated to 4,540 BC).

Only three sacred trees potentially identified as Asheras were found in the Near East before the discovery of the juniper tree trunk in Eilat: in the early Bronze Age sanctuary in Beycesultan, Turkey; in the Bronze Age sanctuary in Qatna, Syria; and in the Iron Age sanctuary in Lachish.

Anthropomorphic massebah with a 'nest' of six skulls at its feet. Photo: Uzi Avner
Anthropomorphic massebah with a ‘nest’ of six skulls at its feet. Photo: Uzi Avner

The researchers discovered other remnants that illustrate the actual character of the location, in addition to the hallowed Asherah tree. Hundreds of small and modest-sized sacred standing stones, known as masseboth in the Near East, were among them (or Masseba in the singular). This form of stone monument, which first appeared circa 1200 BC, was frequently erected at sacred places in the Near East and the Levant in pre-Biblical times.

Who is the Asherah?

Asherah, ancient West Semitic goddess, consort of the supreme god.  According to texts from Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria), Asherah’s consort was El, and by him, she was the mother of 70 gods. As mother goddess she was widely worshiped throughout Syria and Palestine, although she was frequently paired with Baal, who often took the place of El; as Baal’s consort, Asherah was usually given the name Baalat.

Asherah, detail from an ivory box from Mīna al-Bayḍā near Ras Shamra (Ugarit), Syria, c. 1300 BCE; in the Louvre, Paris.
Asherah, detail from an ivory box from Mīna al-Bayḍā near Ras Shamra (Ugarit), Syria, c. 1300 BCE; in the Louvre, Paris.

Inscriptions from two locations in southern Palestine seem to indicate that she was also worshiped as the consort of Yahweh.

The word Asherah in the Old Testament was used not only in reference to the goddess herself but also to a wooden cult object associated with her worship.

Cover Photo: Juniper tree trunk in a grave in Eilat: the earliest “Asherah” discovered so far in the Near East. Photo: Uzi Avner

Related Articles

In Parion, one of the most important cities of the Troas region, 2,000-year-old mother-child graves were unearthed

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Parion, the most important harbor city in the Hellenistic era, have uncovered  2,000-year-old...

Beautiful’ Water-Nymph statue turns out to be Aphrodite

20 October 2023

20 October 2023

The statue of a nymph (water fairy) discovered last month during excavations in the Ancient City of Amastris was identified...

Terracotta Army Emperor’s Quest for Immortality: Tibetan Inscription Confirmed Authentic

19 September 2025

19 September 2025

Qin Shi Huang, China’s first emperor and the visionary behind the world-famous Terracotta Army, has long been remembered for his...

Surprising Genetic Findings from Early Middle Ages Burial Sites in Austria

22 January 2025

22 January 2025

In a groundbreaking archeogenetic study, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, in collaboration with an international team,...

Archaeologists have unearthed a flawless Roman blue glass bowl in the Dutch city of Nijmegen

23 January 2022

23 January 2022

Archaeologists excavating the site of a comprehensive housing and green space development in Nijmegen’s Winkelsteeg, one of the oldest cities...

1,700-Year-Old Roman Ringstone Depicting Goddess Athena Discovered at Assos

30 August 2024

30 August 2024

A Roman Imperial Period ringstone depicting Athena, the mother goddess of the Assos ancient city, has been discovered in the...

Hima, a rock art site in Saudi Arabia, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List

24 July 2021

24 July 2021

The rock art site Hima in Najran has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the sixth registered...

Urartian graves in eastern Turkey pointing out novel burial traditions

21 September 2021

21 September 2021

The excavations in Cavuştepe castle continue with the excavations in the necropolis this year. Two new tombs from the Urartian...

New research reveals that Baltic amber was transported to the most westerly region of the continent more than 5,000 years ago

21 October 2023

21 October 2023

A team of scientists has identified the oldest pieces of Baltic amber ever found on the Iberian Peninsula, revealing that...

China exhibits 2,000-year-old artifacts discovered in Guangzhou

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

On August 10, the National Museum of China launched an exhibition featuring archaeological finds from ancient China’s Qin (221–207 BC)...

Archaeologists identify a sunken Nabataean temple dedicated to the God Dusares at Pozzuoli

12 April 2023

12 April 2023

Off the coast of Pozzuoli on the Phlegrean Peninsula in Campania, Italy, underwater archaeologists have identified a sunken Nabataeans temple...

The circular-shaped structure unearthed in Uşaklı mound may point to the holy Hittite city of Zippalanda

27 December 2022

27 December 2022

Italian-Turkish team of archaeologists led by the University of Pisa unearthed a mysterious circle-shaped structure from the Hittite era at...

2000-year-old Ancient Greek ‘graduate school yearbook’ carved in stone found

5 June 2022

5 June 2022

Historians have discovered that an ancient Greek inscription on a marble slab in the collection of the National Museums of...

Archaeologists Found Probable Evidence of the Existence of Amazons in Azerbaijan

27 March 2024

27 March 2024

Archaeological research carried out in Azerbaijan recently likely confirmed the existence of Amazons, female warriors from Greek mythology. During excavations...

Persian-era plaster walls were discovered during excavations at Zeyve Höyük in central Turkey

2 August 2022

2 August 2022

This year’s excavations at Porsuk-Zeyve Höyük (Zeyve Mound) near the Porsuk village of the Ulukışla district of Niğde, located in...