Artist's reconstruction of the 12th century BCE Egyptian shrine dedicated to Hathor, goddess of miners, at Timna. Her face appears on two pillars of imported white sandstone. Three bowls were for ritual ablution baths before entering the shrine. The Midianites are believed to have effaced the faces of Hathor after the Egyptians abandoned the area, and dedicated a copper serpent to their god. Amongst other votives was a copper idol of a phallic god, perhaps Yahweh ?
(p. 43, "A Temple Built for Copper Miners." Percy Knauth. The Metalsmiths. The Emergence of Man. New York. Time-Life. 1974 )
