Student excavates in a Philistine cemetery at Ashkelon (Photo: Melissa Aja/Leon Levy Expedition)
Between the 12th and 7th centuries B.C., the Philistines assembled an impressive list of enemies, including the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Assyrians. They are mentioned in the ancients texts of all of those civilizations (Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar eventually defeated them), but the Hebrew Bible is the most widely read source, and since the Philistines were sworn enemies of the Israelites, they come off as notorious villains.
The story of David and Goliath is probably the most famous, but the Old Testament is full of accounts of Philistines starting ill-conceived battles and employing devious tricks. Contemporary descriptions paint them as thugs, blindly solving every dispute with violence or treachery (Delilah was a Philistine, too). The connotation of “philistine” as uncultured or unsophisticated came many centuries later, and has trailed this ancient people thorough history.
Now, the discovery of a 3,000-year-old cemetery is letting this civilization tell its own story. Daniel Master is an archaeologist at Wheaton College and co-director of the Leon Levy Expedition to the Philistine city of Ashkelon (on the Mediterranean coast of Israel just north of the present Gaza Strip), which began in 1985. His team recently found a cemetery at the site, and its excavation offers scholars new knowledge and insights into how the Philistines actually lived and died.
Master discusses the importance of the cemetery in expanding existing information about the Philistines. Archaeologists had found some clues about Philistine life from their houses and markets, but without a cemetery it was difficult to get an understanding of the Philistine’s themselves. The cemetery now provides clearer indications of Philistine cultural practices (and the notable fact that they are different from the earlier Canaanites or neighboring Judeans), and a possible source for DNA or morphological research that can help understand the Philistines’ origins.
Other Connections
“The victors write history…We found these Philistines, and finally we get to hear their story told by them rather than by their enemies.” —Archeologist Daniel Master
A New York Times report offers background on the Ashkelon cemetery dig and its significance in reshaping historical views of Philistine culture.
