Seal of Ishtar, 8th-7th century BCE

The Seal of Ishtar is an Assyrian seal depicting the warrior goddess Ishtar, on the left, with a supplicant, at right. Such tangible evidence of an Assyrian presence at Shechem helped archaeologists date the destruction of the site’s stratum VII to 724 B.C.E., the year of Shalmaneser’s campaign in the region.

“Israelites in Exile; Their Names Appear at All Levels of Assyrian Society,” BAR Nov-Dec 2003.