Philistines Archives - Page 18 of 20

Weekend Roundup

The “Roads of Arabia Exhibition,” mentioned here in February, opened this week in Berlin. The transfer of the collection from St. Petersburg was quite a challenge. In the fall the exhibition is
scheduled to move to Washington, DC.

Luke Chandler explains exactly where the Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon was discovered.

The process of wine-making in ancient times is described in the Jerusalem Post (but the editor chose to illustrate it with a photo of an olive press).

Aren Maeir is always ahead of the curve, but now he outdoes himself by restoring pottery from the 2012 season. The photos show that they’re digging up some great artifacts.

Students of Ephesus may be interested in a new historical work by Hans Willer Laale. Ephesus (Ephesos): An Abbreviated History From Androclus to Constantine XI is now available from Amazon ($26-34 for paperback or hardcover; $4 for Kindle).

The Biblical Archaeology Society has produced a 9-minute video on the excavations at Bethsaida.
Zahi Hawass is writing a book.

The ASOR Blog has a round-up of news from the world of archaeology.

The Jerusalem Post has a story on the top 5 bookstores in the city.

Iron Age gate at Bethsaida

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Jerusalem, Museums, Philistines, Resources, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

New Book: The ANE in the 12th-10th Centuries BCE

The proceedings of a conference at Haifa University in 2010 will soon be available in a 620-page book entitled The Ancient Near East in the 12th–10th Centuries BCE: Culture and History, edited by Gershon Galil, Ayelet Gilboa, Aren M. Maeir, and Dan’el Kahn.

Some chapters of particular interest to readers of this blog may include:

Walter Dietrich, David and the Philistines: Literature and History

Gershon Galil, Solomon’s Temple: Fiction or Reality?

Yosef Garfinkel, Saar Ganor and Michael G. Hasel, The Iron Age City of Khirbet Qeiyafa after
four Seasons of Excavations

Moti Haiman, Geopolitical Aspects of the Southern Levant Desert in the 11th–10th Centuries BCE

Larry G. Herr, Jordan in the Iron I and IIB Periods

Victor Avigdor Hurowitz, Yhwh’s Exalted House Revisited: New Comparative Light on the Biblical Image of Solomon’s Temple

Dan´el Kahn, A Geo-Political and Historical Perspective of Merneptah’s Policy in Canaan

André Lemaire, West Semitic Epigraphy and the History of the Levant during the 12th–10th
Centuries BCE

Aren M. Maeir, Insights on the Philistine Culture and Related Issues: An Overview of 15 Years of Work at Tell es-Safi/Gath

Troy Leiland Sagrillo, Šîšaq’s [Shishak’s] Army: 2 Chronicles 12:2–3 from an Egyptological Perspective

Ephraim Stern, Archaeological Remains of the Northern Sea People along the Sharon and Carmel Coasts and the Acco and Jezrael Valleys

Christoffer Theis and Peter van der Veen, Some “Provenanced” Egyptian Inscriptions from Jerusalem: A Preliminary Study of Old and New Evidence

And there is much more.

HT: Jack Sasson

Tagged 10th Century, Jerusalem, Jordan, Philistines, Resources, Shephelah

Discoveries at Khirbet Summeily Announced

The most dramatic discovery from the first season of excavations at Khirbet Summeily is a unique sculpted animal head. Archaeologists are not sure if the head is of a sheep or a lion, but they say that it is the first of this type they have seen.

Excavations of the site this summer also uncovered an Egyptian scarab, stone figurines, a collection of loomweights, as well as the remains of several buildings. Khirbet Summeily is located near the border of ancient Israel and Philistia, 3 miles (4 km) west of Tell el-Hesi and about 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Qiryat Gat.

Tim Frank has posted the full press release and photograph from Mississippi State University. You may want to check out Frank’s blog “Archaeology and the Bible” while you’re at it, including a recent series of posts on “Life in the Holy Land,” surveying the remarkable work of Gustav Dalman (until now available only in German and Hebrew).

Blog readers may recall Daughter of Lachish, a captivating work of historical fiction written by Frank and published earlier this year by Wipf and Stock (now available from Amazon).

Tagged Discoveries, Excavations, Judah, Philistines

Free: Ashkelon Excavation Reports

Volumes 1 and 2 of the Ashkelon Reports are now available for free download. From Dig Ashkelon:

As we continue our new discoveries, we are excited to be able to bring you a summary of our results from 1985-2004 in the form of two final report volumes: Ashkelon 1 and Ashkelon 2. These two volumes provide over 900 pages of information on the ancient city of Ashkelon and can be downloaded free of charge due to the generous sponsorship of the Leon Levy Foundation. For those scholars who need the printed volumes, please note that they are still for sale at Eisenbrauns. These volumes – both in their publication, and now in their free distribution – reaffirm our commitment to making the result of our excavation available to the widest possible audience, so that all can appreciate appreciate and learn from the wonders of the history of Ashkelon.

Elsewhere it is written:

Eventually, each volume in the series will be available for download making the excavation of Ashkelon one of the most accessible in the world.

I don’t have enough positive things to say. Ashkelon 1: Introduction and Overview (1985-2006) fills 700 pages and sells for $135. Ashkelon 2: Imported Pottery of the Roman and Late Roman Periods has 233 pages and sells for $45.

Ashkelon 3: The Seventh Century B.C. has 28 chapters, 800 full-color pages, and sells for $93. The third volume was published this year and is not currently available for download.

Under this model, libraries and institutions will purchase the book and help to cover publication costs. After several years the Leon Levy Foundation will provide the funding so that the digital file (pdf) is made available to researchers and students who otherwise might not be able to afford the purchase. There is much merit in this model and I would love to see other expeditions follow suit.

Ashkelon from northwest

Tagged Philistines, Resources

Updates on the Horned Altar of Gath

In the cleaning of pottery found in the vicinity of the horned altar of Gath, archaeologists have discovered an inscription. Aren Maeir reports that several letters written in ink have been identified, including a mem (“m”).

Maeir has also posted a three-minute video about the two-horned altar in which he describes the
context of the find, the date of its destruction, and the significance of the object.

The altar has now been removed from the site and is in the lab at Bar-Ilan University.

Tagged Discoveries, Philistines

The Philistines of Gath and Their Temple

From the Jerusalem Post:

The word Philistine has come to denote boorishness, an underdeveloped sense of beauty and sophistication, and vulgar materialism.
But remnants of an ancient Philistine hub now being excavated in the ancient city of Gath tell a different story: one of an advanced society boasting sophisticated architecture and an advanced political life.
Excavators of Tell es-Safi/Gath, one of Israel’s largest archeological sites, resume work this week in search of further remnants of a Philistine temple believed to have been toppled by an earthquake in 8th century BCE – an event familiar to millions the world over through the biblical story of Samson.
The temple was discovered a year ago by a team led by Prof.
Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan’s University’s Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology. Dating back to the Iron Age (10th century BCE), it features two central pillars in accordance with the image described in the story of Samson in the Book of Judges: “He pulled the two pillars together, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it.”
The team has also uncovered collapsed walls that appear to date from an earthquake in the 8th century BCE – an event that could be identical to the earthquake prophesized by the prophet Amos.

The full story is here. On his blog, Aren Maeir is posting daily updates of the excavations.

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Philistines