1991 the ruins of a small ceramic tabernacle was found a finely cast bronze statuette of a bull calf, originally silvered, long. Images of calves and bulls were associated with the worship of the Canaanite gods El and Baal. Middle Bronze II Ashkelon reached its peak with a population of about 15,000 and a city wall enclosing some 60 ha. In the early MB IIA, the Egyptians mainly sent their ships further north to Lebanon (Byblos). In the late MB IIA, Ashkelon phases 14-10 can be compared with Tell ed-Dab'a stratums H-D/1. Contacts with Egypt increased in the late 12th Dynasty and early 13th Dynasty when maritime trade flourished. Ashkelon is mentioned in the Egyptian Execration Texts of the 11th dynasty as "Asqanu." Late Bronze Thutmosid Period Beginning in the time of Thutmose III (1479-1425 BC) the city was under Egyptian control, under a local governor. Amarna Period In the Amarna letters ( 1350 BC), there are seven letters to and from Ashkelon's (Ašqaluna) king Yidya, and the Egyptian pharaoh. One letter from the pharaoh to Yidya was discovered in the early 1900s. Ramesside Period During the reign of Ramesses II the southern Levant was the frontier of the epic war against the Hittites in Syria. In addition the Sea Peoples attacked and rebellions occurred. These events coincide with a downturn in climatic conditions starting around 1250 BC onwards, ultimately causing the Late Bronze to collapse. On the death of Ramesses II, turmoil and rebellion increased in the southern Levant. The king Merneptah faced a series of uprisings, as told in the Merneptah Stele. The Pharaoh notes putting down a rebellion in the city of Ashkelon. Further north, the King Jabin of Hazor tried to fight for independence with Mycenaean mercenaries - Merneptah laying waste the grain fields in the Valley of Yizreel to starve out the northern rebellion. These events contributed to the fall of the 19th dynasty. Philistine settlement The Philistines conquered Canaanite Ashkelon about 1150 BCE. Their earliest pottery, types of structures and inscriptions are similar to the early Greek urbanised centre at Mycenae in mainland Greece, adding weight to the hypothesis that the Philistines were one of the populations among the "Sea Peoples" that upset cultures throughout the eastern Mediterranean at that time. Ashkelon became one of the five Philistine cities that were constantly warring with the Israelites and later the United Kingdom of Israel and