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Excavating Philistine Gath: Have We Found Goliath's Hometown?
... s-. Sâfi/Gath. The investigations were carried out in conjunction with an ongoing excavation project that has been conducted at the site since 1996 (Maeir and Ehrlich, 2001). ...
... s-. Sâfi/Gath is one of the largest pre-classical archaeological sites in Israel (Figures 3 and 4). Most scholars identify the tell with biblical Gath of the Philistines (e.g., Rainey, 1975;Schniedewind, 1998;Maeir and Ehrlich, 2001), one of the most important Philistine cities during the early period of Philistine history (Iron Age I-II, ca. 1200-800 B.C.E.) ...
... The tell was inhabited almost continuously from the Chalcolithic period (5th millenium B.C.E.) until modern times. It is a rich source of archaeological data for approximately the last six millennia (Maeir and Ehrlich, 2001). ...
Tell es-Sâfi/gath is situated in the semiarid foothills of central Israel, adjacent to the coastal . plain. An enigmatic landscape feature, noted on aerial photographs, encircles the tell on three sides. This unique feature, unknown from other Near Eastern tells, was investigated. Methods of analysis include aerial photographs, field surveys, excavations, soil analyses, chronotypological ceramic classification, and radiocarbon dating. We concluded that (1) the peculiar landscape feature is a huge human-made trench, over 2 km long, 5–6 m deep, and more than 8 m wide, cut through bedrock; (2) the trench was excavated during the Iron Age IIA (ca. 1000–800 B.C.E.), apparently as part of a siege system; (3) the extracted rock and soil material was dumped on the Iron Age landscape surface on one side of the trench, forming an elevated “berm”; (4) erosion processes transformed this landscape scar, as the trench filled with sediment; (5) stratigraphic analysis indicates two major phases of filling, separated by a period of landscape stability and soil formation (A horizon); (6) the two filling phases, exhibiting Iron Age IIA and Byzantine pottery (ca. 324—638 C.E.), appear to coincide with more intense human activity; and (7) the possible effect of climatic variations seems less obvious. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
... Tell eṡ-Ṡ âfi/Gath is one of the largest pre-classical archaeological sites in Israel (Figs. 2 and 3). Most scholars identify Tell eṡ-Ṡ âfi/Gath as biblical Gath of the Philistines, one of the most important Philistine cities during the early period of Philistine history (Rainey, 1975;Schniedewind, 1998;Maeir and Ehrlich, 2001). The site was inhabited almost continuously from the Chalcolithic period (5th millenium BCE) until modern times. ...
... The site was inhabited almost continuously from the Chalcolithic period (5th millenium BCE) until modern times. It is an important source of archaeological data for approximately the last six millennia (Maeir, 2001, in press a,b;Maeir and Ehrlich, 2001). A unique trench encircles the eastern, southern and western sides of the tell. ...
... 1000 -700 BCE). Based on archaeological and historical considerations (Boas and Maeir, 1998;Maeir, 2001, in press a,b;Maeir and Ehrlich, 2001;Fig. 3. Tell eṡ-Ṡ âfi/Gath, aerial photograph with arrows showing trench. ...
The semi-arid Mediterranean landscape in the area of Tell eṡ-Ṡâfi (biblical Gath of the Philistines), in central Israel, has been affected by extraordinary human activities. The Judean foothills in the region are characterised by chalk and calcrete with a patchy cover of Rendzina soils. Unique human-made geomorphic and catenary changes in the landscape, nearly 3000 years ago, left their marks on the vegetation distribution in the area today. A very large trench that surrounds the tell on three sides was excavated in the Iron Age II (ca. 9th century B.C.E.). The trench served as a siege moat, part of an offensive siege system around the tell. The trench is 2.5 km long, 8–10 m wide, and has a maximum depth of 5.5 m. A berm, consisting of dumped earth and rock fragments excavated from the trench, is situated alongside the entire length of the trench, covering the original surface. Our catenary landscape analysis revealed that a particular vegetation species, Sarcopoterium spinosum, is dominant on the berm, covering 78% of its surface area. Its coverage of the three other catenary landscape units, slope above the berm, trench, slope below the trench, is only 29%, 32% and 24%, respectively. Bedrock exposure in the berm is less than 4%, which together with the slightly elevated position of the berm results in surface area conditions of relatively low water retention. Such areas are conducive to S. spinosum establishment and survival, due to the plant's high resistance to comparatively dry conditions. Thus, the human landscape changes almost three thousand years ago caused a dramatic catenary change that continues to have a distinct effect on vegetation distribution today.
... 1. We included sites with different pottery types in the transitional layers: (a) sites containing layers with LHIIIC imports, found in Tel Beth Shean (D'Agata et al. 2005;Mazar 2007; Yasur-Landau 2010; Mountjoy 2011); (b) locally produced Aegean-like pottery such as Philistine 1 and Philistine 2 (Dothan 1982) that were found in Tel Miqne-Ekron (Dothan and Zukerman 2004) and in smaller numbers in Tell-es-Safi/Gath (Maeir and Ehrlich 2001) and Qubur el-Walaydah (Asscher et al. 2015a); and (c) sites with no imports nor locally produced Agean-like pottery were also incoporated as references for the intermediate LB|Ir local culture such as in Tel Lachish, Tel Megiddo, and Tel Rehov (Mazar and Carmi 2001;Ussishkin 2004). ...
... Large assemblages of Monochrome pottery were found only in Philistia, especially in Ashkelon, Ashdod and Tel Miqne-Ekron. Smaller quantities of Monochrome pottery were found in Tell es-Safi/Gath (Maeir and Ehrlich 2001), in particular in the transitional Stratum A6 (forthcoming), and sporadic sherds were found in Tel Haror, Haruba, Tell Jerishe, Akko, Ras Ibn Hani, Sarepta, Gezer, Beth Shean (Dothan and Zukerman 2004), and Qubur el-Walaydah (Asscher et al. 2015a). In the following phase, Bichrome pottery was abundant in Philistia, Upper Galilee (Hazor and Dan), northern coast and Akko Plain (Dor and Tell Keisan), Jezreel Valley and its margins (mainly Megiddo and Afula), Central Hill Country (Shiloh, Bethel, and Tell en-Nasbeh), and in the Negev Desert (Beersheba and Tel Masos) (Gilboa et al. 2006). ...
The Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in the Levant includes the appearance of new material culture that is similar in styles to the Aegean world. In the southern Levant, the distribution of early styles of Aegean-like pottery, locally produced, is limited to the coastal areas of Canaan, making synchronization with the rest of the region difficult. Radiocarbon ( ¹⁴ C) dating provides a high-resolution absolute chronological framework for synchronizing ceramic phases. Here, absolute ¹⁴ C chronologies of the Late Bronze to Iron Age transition in the sites Tel Beth Shean, Tel Rehov, Tel Lachish, and Tel Miqne-Ekron are determined. Results show that the ranges of transitions vary in an absolute time frame by 50–100 years between different sites and that the range of the Late Bronze Age to Iron Age transition in Canaan spans the 13th–11th centuries BC plateau. These chronologies, based on a site-by-site approach for dating, show that the change between early types of Aegean-like pottery (Monochrome) to developed types (Bichrome), occurred over 100 years in Canaan and that the transition occurred in southern sites prior to sites in the north. These ranges show that not only is the Late Bronze to Iron Age not contemporaneous, but also synchronization between sites based on their ceramic assemblages is problematic.
... The study was conducted in the environs of Tell es-Safi/Gath in the Judean Shephelah (the Judean Foothills), in central Israel (Fig. 1). The site has been identified as the biblical "Gath of the Philistines," one of the cities of the Philistine "Pentapolis" (Rainey 1975;Schniedewind 1998;Maeir and Ehrlich 2001). It is one of the largest pre-classical archaeological settlements in Israel (Figs. 2 and 3), and is an important source of information regarding human history in the area from the Chalcolithic period (5 th millennium BCE) until modern times (Maeir 2001; in press a; in press b; Maeir and Ehrlich 2001). . . ...
... The site has been identified as the biblical "Gath of the Philistines," one of the cities of the Philistine "Pentapolis" (Rainey 1975;Schniedewind 1998;Maeir and Ehrlich 2001). It is one of the largest pre-classical archaeological settlements in Israel (Figs. 2 and 3), and is an important source of information regarding human history in the area from the Chalcolithic period (5 th millennium BCE) until modern times (Maeir 2001; in press a; in press b; Maeir and Ehrlich 2001). . . ...
As part of the long-term archaeological project being conducted at Tell e-Sâfi/Gath in the semi-arid foothills of the Judean Mountains, a first order dry stream channel located in a valley east of the main site was surveyed and soil pits excavated in selected locations. A ditch, 10 m in length, was dug perpendicular to one of the agricultural terraces, showing that the small valley is filled with soil to a depth of more than 3 m above bedrock. The fill dates mainly to the Byzantine period (ca. 4th-7th cent. CE), according to the ceramic sherds. Three check-dam walls and related terraces were found across the width of the valley. Surprisingly, the base of the check-dam does not go deeper than 50 em into the uppermost part of the fill, well above bedrock or gravel layers, while covering only the upper part of the terrace step. Thus we use the term “floating terrace wall” or “floating check-dams”. Each of the terrace walls is about 0.5 m high and 50 m long. The valley is bound by two slopes: (1) a northeast facing slope characterized by Nari outcrops (a hard calcrete crust in the upper part of the chalk bedrock) and soil pockets, and (2) a southwest facing slope without Nari. The source of most valley fill material is apparently from the slope without Nari. The valley shows comparatively little accumulation during the Iron Age and very much accumulation during the Byzantine period. The main cause seems to be human-made earth movement and terrace building during the Byzantine period, rather than passive erosion and accumulation as a result of general environmental pressure by human activity.
... All these aspects, among others, contribute to a very different understanding of the Philistines. This not only changes what earlier generations of scholars have suggested, but even what I myself have taught and written not so long ago (e.g., Maeir and Ehrlich 2001). Thus, it is quite clear that what we think we know about who the Philistines were needs to be reassessed. ...
Did Hezekiah carry out religious reforms aimed at centralizing worship in Jerusalem? It is difficult to give an unequivocal answer to this question. The description of reforms is laconic and stereotypical (2 Kgs 18:4.22). The historical circumstances, however, seem to favor its recognition as historical. Also archaeological research, although not confirming unequivocally, does not allow to deny such a possibility either, even if many researchers believe that there was no massive influx of migrants from the north and that the population growth towards the end of 8th c. BCE was a natural demographic process. Texts devoted to the monarchy (1–2 Sam; 1–2 Kgs) and to the centralization of worship (Deut 12) fit better with the situation at the end of the 7th c. BCE (time of Josiah), both when we look at them from the point of view of literary criticism and from the perspective of political and social situation. However, the figure of Hezekiah could be considered by the authors of the 7th c. BCE as a precursor of the reforms of Josiah’s time due to the “historical” information about his destruction of the serpent cult of Nehushtan.
The interpretation of the archaeological and historical data related to Gath, Lachish and Jerusalem in the 9th cent, b.c.e. is a scholarly challenge of the first order. As more data become available more unanswered questions are being raised. In this paper I discussed and summarized the archaeological aspects of the following issues: 1. Gath was the largest Philistine city during the first part of the 9th cent, b.c.e. (Stratum A3) before its destruction, apparently by the Aramaean army of Hazael. It is yet unclear whether the city, or at least its acropolis, was fortified by a city-wall. 2. It seems clear that the so-called "siege trench" surrounding Tell es-Sqft on three sides is not a dry siege-moat built by the Aramaean army during the attack on Gath as concluded by Maeir and his colleagues. No alternative interpretation can be offered at present for the trench, its origins and function.
This study deals with the most important king of the Aramaean kingdom of Damascus, Hazael, and the impact he had on biblical literature. The extra-biblical sources reveal that Hazael managed to create a large kingdom and to expand his authority over the whole of Syria-Palestine, including the Kingdom of Israel and the House of David, during the second half of the ninth century BCE. The Bible presents Hazael as an oppressor, yet the biblical writers elaborated a much more nuanced portrait of Hazael than first meets the eye. In the Elijah-Elisha cycles, Hazael provides a theological interpretative paradigm, the Elisha-Hazael paradigm, which, in the Book of Kings and in the Book of the Twelve, provides the key to explaining God's mysterious dealings with Israel and Israel's enemies. Hazael is presented as a faithful agent of YHWH, who fulfils the divine plan. Beyond the power Hazael yielded across the Levant in his lifetime, the Elisha-Hazael paradigm reveals his enduring influence in Judah and in biblical literature.
The Mediterranean Context of Early Greek History reveals the role of the complex interaction of Mediterranean seafaring and maritime connections in the development of the ancient Greek city-states. Offers fascinating insights into the origins of urbanization in the ancient Mediterranean, including the Greek city-state. Based on the most recent research on the ancient Mediterranean. Features a novel approach to theories of civilization change - foregoing the traditional isolationists model of development in favor of a maritime based network Argues for cultural interactions set in motion by exchange and trade by sea.
In this short study, a unique fluted ceramic bowl from the Iron Age IIA Stratum A3 (late 9th century B.C.) at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel, is discussed. This locally made bowl has a unique shape, which is reminiscent of Phoenician and Assyrian types. It is the earliest appearance of such a bowl in Philistia, and one of the earliest in the entire Iron Age Levant. The authors argue that Phoenician, and not Assyrian influences can be seen in the bowl, evidence of the cultural and trade contact between Philistia and Phoenicia during the early Iron Age II.
In recent research on the literary history of the Former Prophets several scholars argue for a first deuteronomistic history-book consisting of I Sam - II Reg. While the argument for a Dtr history book relating to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah seems sound, the assessment that the bulk of I-II Sam (and I Reg 1-2) was an integral part of this work presents several difficulties. C. Westermann puts emphasis on the different genres: While I-II Sam above all includes stories, I-II Reg consists mainly of historical accounts. In addition to this observation, the important theological divergences between the two books should also be taken into consideration. Certain tendencies of the stories of Samuel - the positive interest for various cult-places (i.e. Shilo, Rama, Bethel, Gilgal, Nob, Hebron), the drawing of a very ambiguous image of David - are in a strong tension to the main principles of the authors of I-II Reg: essential for their judging of Israelite and Judean kings is the strict observance of the command of cult centralization and the imitation of a king David who in I-II Reg is seen in an entirely positive way. The purpose of the present article is to lay out the evidence for several discrepancies between I-II Sam and I-II Reg as well as to reassess the literary-historical relationship between the two unities.
Notched animal scapulae (shoulder blades) are one of the most enigmatic aspects
of the material culture of the Iron Age Levant. Discussions of their chronology, regional
distribution, function, and cultural significance appear frequently in studies
concerning the culture of the Sea Peoples in Cyprus and the southern Levant. However,
the available data has never been analyzed in a comprehensive manner, and
many of its aspects remain obscure. This article was prompted by the recent discovery
of a group of these objects in a ninth-century b.c.e. level at Tell es-Sâfi/Gath, Israel.
Alongside the detailed description of the objects and their findspots, they are
discussed in relation to the above-mentioned topics, and a new hypothesis concerning
their function and place in the Philistine cultural assemblage is proposed. We further
conclude that the notched scapulae from Tell es-Sâfi/Gath shed valuable light on the
evolution of Philistine culture, especially with regard to the retention of its Iron Age I
characteristics during the early Iron Age II.
This article addresses the phenomenon of fortifications in Iron Age Israel and tries to portray the specific historical background behind their construction by integrating the archaeological data, the extra-biblical sources and the analysis of the biblical text. Of the two clear stratigraphical phases of fortifications noticed in several Iron Age cities, the latter is more massive and elaborated compared with its predecessor. We propose that the developed phase of fortifications in Israel was created under the Omrides, in a time of economic and political strength, as a response to the expansion policy of Aram Damascus. This analysis offers an explanation to the intriguing absence of any biblical reference to the Assyrians prior to Tiglath-pileser III, and casts a fresh look upon the current debate on the chronology of the Iron Age II. If the elaborate fortification systems were initiated during the first half of the ninth century, the initial phase of the urbanization process, which preceded this developed stage, must have begun in the days prior to the Omride dynasty, namely in the tenth century.
The superscription of the book of Zephaniah places the composition in the 7th century BCE, during the reign of King Josiah of Judah. While some scholars support a monarchic date for composition on the grounds of geopolitical details, others have accepted the book as a post-monarchic composition, in which geopolitical details are merely functions of literary techniques. Critical in the discussions of date and historicity are the oracles found in the book's second chapter. This essay examines the introductory poem found in Zeph 2:4 and argues that the oracle is representative of 7th century Judean sentiments toward the city of Ekron because of a specific pun, which should be read in light of the city's impressive olive oil industry dating to the 7th century BCE.
This article deals with the momentous events that took place in Judah in the short period of time between 732 (and mainly 722) and 701 BCE. A torrent of refugees from the North, mostly from the areas bordering on Judah, dramatically changed the demographic structure in the Southern Kingdom. The population seems to have at least doubled and included significant north Israelite communities. This situation created, in fact, a pan-Israelite state. Hezekiah reacted to this challenge in two ways, both aimed at strengthening the authority of the central government. Countryside shrines were abolished and the cult was centralized in the Jerusalem Temple, probably in an attempt to prevent the new immigrants from visiting the Bethel temple in their old homeland. In the same short period of time, the story of the early days of the Davidide dynasty was first put in writing, combining southern and northern traditions in a single national narrative.
In the light of recent archaeological finds from Iron Age Philistia and comparative evidence from Aegean and ancient Near Eastern cults, a new interpretation is suggested for the term opalim ( ), mentioned in the `ark narrative' (e.g. 1 Sam. 5.6; 6.5). Although most often interpreted as relating to `haemorrhoids' or the bubonic plague, it is suggested that this, in fact, is a term referring to an affliction of the Philistines' membra virile.
Boaretto et al. (2005) published 68 radiocarbon dates relating to 30 samples from 10 Iron Age sites in Israel as part of their Early Iron Age Dating Project. Though the main goal of their paper was an interlaboratory comparison, they also presented results of Bayesian models, calculating the transition from Iron Age I to Iron Age II in Israel to be about 900 BCE instead of the conventional date of about 1000 BCE. Since this date has great importance for all of Eastern Mediterranean archaeology, in this paper we examine the results in light of the dates published in the above-mentioned article. Our paper was revised in light of new data and interpretations published by Sharon et al. (2007).
Following a survey of the contexts and specific results at each site, we present several Bayesian models. Model C2 suggests the date range of 961–942 BCE (68% probability) for the transition from Iron Age I to Iron Age II, while Model C3 indicates a somewhat later date of 948–919 BCE (compare the date 992–961 BCE calculated at Tel Rehov for the same transition). In our Model D, we calculated this transition date at Megiddo as taking place between 967–943 BCE. Finally, we calculated the range of dates of major destruction levels marking the end of the Iron Age I, with the following results: Megiddo VIA: 1010–943 BCE; Yoqne'am XVII: 1045–997 BCE; Tell Qasile X: 1039–979 BCE; Tel Hadar: 1043–979 BCE (all in the 68.2% probability range). Figure 4 indicates that the transition between Iron I and II probably occurred between these above-mentioned destruction events and the dates achieved in our Models C2 or C3, namely during the first half of the 10th century BCE.
This study emphasizes the sensitivity of Bayesian models to outliers, and for reducing or adding dates from the models. This sensitivity should be taken into account when using Bayesian models for interpreting radiometric dates in relation to subtle chronological questions in historical periods.
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