A large bronze mask of the god Pan, the only one of its kind, was recently uncovered at the University of Haifa's excavation at Hippos-Sussita National Park on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. According to Dr. Michael Eisenberg from the University's Zinman Institute of Archeology, bronze masks of this size are extremely rare as most of the known bronze masks from the period are miniature and usually do not depict Pan or any of the other Greek or Roman mythological images.

In recent years, the mysteries of Hippos-Sussita have been revealing their secrets in an extraordinary way: first, a sculpture of Hercules was exposed by the winter rains of 2011, then, two years later, a basalt tombstone with a sculpture of the deceased's bust was uncovered. Now there is a new surprise: the only finding of a bronze mask of unnatural size, in the form of the god Pan/Faunus.

Excavations at Hippos-Sussita are usually conducted in the summer. However, a series of intriguing structures on the ridge of the city, where the ancient road passed, led to a one-day dig in the winter. The dig focused on a basalt structure which the researchers assumed was a type of armored hangar for the city's projectile machines. The finding of a ballista ball made of limestone, a different material from the basalt that was customarily used at Hippos-Sussita to make ballista balls, made them realize that it was an enemy’s projectile.

In light of this interesting find the researchers decided to search the structure for coins to help them date the balls. Dr. Alexander Lermolin, head of the conservation laboratory at the Institute of Archaeology at the University, used a metal detector that indicated the location of a new finding: the large bronze mask.

Horns like the ones on the mask are usually associated with Pan, the half-man half-goat god of the shepherds, music and pleasure. A more thorough cleaning in the lab, revealed strands of a goat beard, long pointed ears, and other characteristics that led Dr. Eisenberg to identify the mask as depicting a Pan/Faunus/Satyr.

The mask was found nearby the remains of a basalt structure with thick walls and very solid masonry work, which suggested a large structure from the Roman period. A Pan altar on the main road to the city, beyond its limits, is quite likely, as Pan was worshipped not only in the city temples but also in caves and in nature. The ancient city of Paneas, north of Hippos-Sussita, had one of the most famous worshipping compounds to the god Pan inside a cave. Because they included drinking, sacrificing and ecstatic worship that sometimes included nudity and sex, rituals for rustic gods were often held outside of the city.

Now the archeologists have begun to uncover the basalt structure, in the hopes of finding more clues to its purpose.

Hippos-Sussita is located about 2 km east of the Sea of Galilee in the Sussita National Park of the National Parks Authority. The excavation is headed by Dr. Michael Eisenberg on behalf of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa in collaboration with archaeologists from Israel and abroad and students from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Haifa.