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The article discusses the evidences of pig avoidance and pork consumption among Philistines and Canaanites in the southern Levant, common perceptions related to pork consumption habits among various cultural groups and irrelavance as a cultural marker to classify an ethnic identity.

The naval invasion of Egypt during the reign of Ramesses III by the Sea Peoples, coupled with the land invasion, represent critical events in ancient Egyptian history. This study explores a location for the maritime conflict, based on recent archaeological and palaeo-environmental investigations of the northwestern Sinai. Where the land battle occurred is hotly debated in light of new, putative evidence that the Philistines originated from northern Syria. Based on a careful reading of the Medinet Habu Sea Peoples' reliefs, their accompanying texts, and the emerging picture of Egypt's eastern frontier defense network in Ramesside times, it is posited that the ground attack also occurred in the northwestern Sinai, not far from the location of the naval encounter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the first decade of the Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath Excavation Project, various areas in the upper city were excavated. Based on the results of the surface survey, however, it was clear that there was extensive settlement in the area to the north of the upper city up until the Elah Valley riverbed. Ten years ago, the excavations were expanded to the lower city, commencing with Area D (fig. 1). Since then, Area D has been extensively excavated, with a broad range of finds mainly from the Iron Age (for additional excavations in Area K of the lower city, see Welch in this issue). Here we will describe some of these finds, with a particular focus on the Philistine cultic remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After Philistine Gath fell to the Arameans in the late ninth century B.C.E. (Maeir 2008; 2012: 47-48) the huge city atop Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath was a ghost town for several decades. Some structures had been burnt or otherwise destroyed, but many were simply abandoned to the elements. As years passed, winter storms and the processes of nature eroded the roofs and walls of hundreds of ownerless houses and other buildings. The devastation was alluded to by the Judahite prophet Amos when he predicted the eventual demise of Samaria: "Go down to Gath of the Philistines," he challenged the Israelites, to behold what complete desolation is like (Amost 6:2; Maeir 2004). Aside from the presence of a few squatters who settled in the north lower-city ruins near the Elah riverbed, the forlorn ghost town of Gath slowly decayed away, until a cataclysmic earthquake shook the entire region somewhere around 760 B.C.E. (Chadwick and Maeir, forthcoming; Maeir 2012: 49-50). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall objective of archaeological excavations is to extract as much reliable information as possible from the whole archaeological record: both macroscopic and microscopic. An effective approach to achieve this goal is to integrate observations on the macroscopic and microscopic records as the excavation proceeds by operating an on-site analytical laboratory at the excavation. In this way important primary context locations can be better identified as they are exposed, and the excavation and sampling strategy can be adapted accordingly (Weiner 2010). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite over a century of research conducted on the Philistines and their material culture, a very small quantity of finds relating to their burial customs has been reported. This has led to quite a lot of speculation on Philistine mortuary customs, with little evidence in support. At a number of sites, suggestions to distinguish "Philistine" burials were attempted, most notably, the erroneous attribution of the anthropoid coffins to the Philistines (Dothan 1982), the suggested cremation burials found at Azor (Dothan and Dothan 1992; Ben-Shlomo 2008, 2012; Buchennino and Yannai 2010), and the burial caves yielding Philistine bichrome pottery at Tel Eton (Edelstein and Aurant 1992). However, the problematic interpretations of these finds, coupled with the fact that none of this evidence was found at the main urban sites of the Philistines, calls into question their centrality within the Philistine realm, and their attribution on a whole to the ethnic group that populated the southern Coastal Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost all of the excavated areas at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath have yielded Philistine decorated pottery. This includes Areas A (Strata A6 and A5), E (Stratum E3), F (Stratum F11), and P (Stratum P2) on the upper tell, as well as Area D (Stratum D5) in the lower city, thus indicating that the consumption, if not actual production, of Philistine decorated pottery was quite widespread throughout the entire site during the twelfth through tenth centuries B.C.E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though the arrival of the Philistines in the southern Levant is an event that happens "off camera," that is, before the appearance of their settlement remains, it is an event that was narrativized in the recent past by archaeologists working in Philistia who interpreted the local production of Aegean style pottery as evidence of a massive colonization by Mycenaean migrants (Hitchcock and Maeir 2016a). By and large, the understanding of the Philistines and their culture was centered around the biblical and Egyptian images of the Philistines, and their continued reception and interpretation until modern times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeology is, for the most part, the study of material remains of the past. Archaeologists survey, excavate, analyze and construct a picture of past human life. They do their best to understand the daily life, the economy, the belief systems, the political and social structures, and so much else about long-gone civilizations. And, in many parts of the world and for long stretches of the human past, they do without recourse to written sources, simply because writing did not exist through most of that time. But if and when written records are available, they provide context, specific facts and dates, and much additional information that then give us a more complete picture of the history of the site or area that we are investigating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evidence that we have for the language(s) spoken by the Philistines is not plentiful, but what we do have is interesting (though far from conclusive). Two types of evidence predominate: (1) inscriptions from Philistine sites (thus these inscriptions may have been produced by Philistines), and (2) Philistine words and names borrowed into other languages of the region and recorded (however imperfectly) in non-Philistine records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tomb Cl at Tel 'Eton (Israel) is a unique Iron Age I elite burial cave (excavated in 1968 by Gershon Edelstein). The finds include many metal artifacts, seals, beads, and dozens of ceramic vessels, including Philistine bichrome pottery. Although some have interpreted the finds as reflecting Philistine occupation at Tel 'Eton, the ethnic composition of the region and the cultural significance of various objects suggest that the interred were members of the indigenous Canaanite elite. By combining the current understanding of cultural interaction in the region during Iron Age I and similar processes elsewhere, the present study reexamines this tomb and the associated finds. This will enable us to gain new insights into the interaction between the various groups that inhabited the region, internal developments within Canaanite society, and the nature of local responses to colonialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been suggested that the collapse of the Late Bronze Age trading networks severed connections between Cyprus and the Philistine cities of the southern Levant. However, the excavators of the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon have uncovered two examples of vessels made in Cyprus and then imported to Philistia during the mid-12th century B.C. These vessels are characterized below, and the consequences of their discovery are briefly addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Aegean-inspired pottery of Iron I Philistia has received a great deal of scholarly attention. Many have studied the various influences that shaped it, its development during the Iron I, the ethnic identity of its users, and even its disappearance at the beginning of the Iron II. While constantly changing during the first 150 years after the initial settlement of the new immigrants in Israel's southern coastal plain, this decorated pottery grew in popularity, and steadily increased its percentage in the ceramic assemblages of the Philistine centers. Later, in the early Iron II, this Aegean decorative tradition disappeared. The decorated pottery in Iron II Philistia (Ashdod Ware) was more akin to Phoenician decorative traditions, was applied to different vessel forms, and was far less popular than its predecessor. It is the aim of the present article to reevaluate the developments of the Aegean-inspired pottery during the Iron I and to reexamine the drastic transition from this decorated pottery to a local type of decorated ware in the Iron II, in order to learn about processes of development and change within the society of Philistia and about the relations between the Philistines and their neighbors, both within and without Philistia, at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution offers comparative evidence to the previous contribution on Philistine feasting. During a visit to Papua New Guinea, I documented and participated in a traditional feast in a remote village in the Finisterre Mountain Range. Although the cultural manifestations seen were very different from those of ancient Near Eastern cultures, various aspects which I witnessed provide interesting analogies for understanding ancient feasting in general, and archaeological evidence of feasting from the ancient Near East in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents evidence for feasting in the late Iron Age I Philistine culture from a circumscribed locale in Area A at the site of Tell es-Safi/Gath. The remains are characterized by architectural features, installations and rubbish dumps containing a rich array of animal bones, symbolic objects, and a series of unique installations all dating to the tenth and eleventh centuries B.C.E. These activities are informed by parallels from Mycenaean Late Bronze Age feasting events, though at Tell es-Safi/Gath they may have served a different purpose, specifically, the maintenance and promotion of Philistine cultural identity through the adoption of behaviors and symbols from the Aegean past by portions of the Philistine population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identification of Ptgyh, the goddess of the Ekron Inscription, has been a topic of great scholarly interest since the discovery of the inscription in 1996. Unfortunately, proposals have been suggested and repeated without sufficient critical evaluation. This article reevaluates these proposals, focusing on the most widely suggested identification-that Ptgyh is to be identified as Pythogaia, or some other form of the Greek goddess Gaia, first suggested by Christa Schäfer-Lichtenberger in 1998. A careful examination of the arguments in favor of this identification reveals them to be lacking in citations to current and significant literature on relevant topics, and to be lacking supporting evidence. The article then questions why, despite these problems, the identification with (Pytho)gaia has been so widely cited in the literature. Ultimately, the answer lies in the widespread scholarly myth of a Great Goddess of the Bronze Age Aegean, and of prehistoric religion more generally: although this myth has now been abandoned by the majority of scholars working on prehistoric religion and iconography, it is still commonly accepted among the wider community of archaeologists and other scholars of the ancient world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In two excavation cycles conducted at Tel Beth-Shemesh in the early 20th century, a scholarly myth about Philistine domination at the site during Iron Age I was born. Renewed excavations at Beth-Shemesh by the authors dispelled this unfounded hypothesis. In a sequence of lron I levels, Canaanite cultural traditions are dominant. Only a meager amount of Bichrome Philistine pottery was found, and other items of Philistine affiliation are missing. Furthermore, pork consumption was completely avoided at Beth-Shemesh in contrast with adjacent Philistine sites. Review of geopolitical changes in the Shephelah during the Late Bronze-Iron Age transition indicates that the Canaanite inhabitants of Beth-Shemesh took advantage of their location at the Philistine periphery, and resisted Philistine hegemony. By denying foodways (eating and drinking) that symbolized their new aggressive neighbors, the people of Beth-Shemesh culturally identified themselves" as "non-Philistine." But since an inverse process, by which elements of Philistine culture were adopted by Canaanites living within the Philistine territory, is also evident, it is apparent that whether adopting or denying Philistine cultural elements, the indigenous population of the Shephelah changed its previous way of life during Iron Age I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The text of 1 Sam 17:4-7 gives a detailed account of the arms and armor of the Philistine champion who battled David in the Elah Valley, a description unmatched for detail in any other biblical text. The text seems to contain enough information to provide an approximate sense, of Goliath's appearance. However, this is where the heart of the debate lies. Previous approaches have viewed the description of Goliath as modeled on an infantry man, be it a Mycenaean warrior of the Iron Age I, a Greek hoplite of the sixth century, or something of a mix of the two. However, if he is understood as a chariot warrior, a member of the Philistine elite warrior class, there is nothing in the description of his equipment that demands a late date for the text's origin. In fact, all his gear matches well with what might be expected of an Aegean-Levantine chariot warrior of the Iron I period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some aspects of Iron Age I Philistine pottery from Ekron Stratum VII and Ashkelon Phase 20 are examined. A small group of kraters isolated from Ekron exhibits both Philistine and non-Philistine characteristics. The latter include local Levantine features, such as rim types, and the use of a motif from the east Aegean. Another motif has a possible Cypriot origin. A local Levantine style is suggested at Ashkelon as a result of a recent in situ find. Similar Levantine features on Cypriot pottery are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origin of the Philistines, their quantity, quality, and status among the native Canaanite population, have all been the focus of a substantial volume of research. However, limited attention has been paid to the fact that at least four of the five primary Philistine cities--Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron--have Semitic names. Four of these five toponyms are known from the Bronze Age historical sources (such as the documents from Ugarit and the Amarna tablets and other Egyptian records), while the fifth (Ekron) is mentioned in Iron Age documents. This paper examines the influence of various factors (e.g., migration, conquest, exile, colonial and imperial rule) on the naming of sites settled by immigrants from other periods and cultures. The results of this examination are then applied to the existing theories regarding the settlement of the Philistines, in order to investigate the choice of location of their cities and the reason for adoption of existing toponyms by the immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses terracotta figurines from Iron Age Philistia that are made in the form of Mycenaean figurines or illustrate Aegean iconographic elements. Together with new material published from Ashdod, previously unpublished examples from the new excavations at Tel Miqne-Ekron and Ashkelon call for a reexamination of the typology and function of this group of figurines. As these objects may reflect both cultic practice affiliated with the Aegean and specific religious elements unique for the Philistines, they are especially important; they also indicate if and in what manner certain iconographic elements in Philistia developed over the course of the Iron Age. Both previously published and new data are discussed in terms of the typology, chronology, context, function and significance of these artifacts in light of the contemporary Late Helladic IIIC and Late Cypriot III material culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an analysis of various aspects relat- ing to the changes in cooking vessels during the Iron Age in Philistia and the southern Levant, with particular em- phasis on the morphology, manufacturing technology, and regional distribution of cookingjugs. We have combined archaeological data and petrographic analyses to evaluate the technological aspects of these vessels. It is argued that cookingjugs, while first appearing in Philistia, subsequent- ly spread to other regions and cultures. The relationship of this process of dissemination to other factors, such as economic and social changes in the southern Levant, is discussed, and it is argued that the possible incorporation of Philistine cooking practices into the neighboring Iron Age cultures may have implications for understanding the multifaceted, ifat times ambiguous, relationships between the Philistines and their neighbors.* [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Philistine finds were first discovered at sites such as Tel Qasile and Tel Gerisa along the Yarkon River, the central sector of Israel's coastal plain has been viewed as part of Philistine territory. Chronologically, it has been established that these sites were settled later than sites located in the heartland of Philistia (mainly Ashdod, Tel Miqne, and Ashkelon). Our knowledge of the Philistine settlement expansion is relatively limited, and we know very little about the people who settled in the Yarkon River Basin in the Iron I. Who were they? Where did they come from? What was their relationship with the main Philistine centers, with neighboring Canaanite cities such as Gezer, and with the population of the highlands to their east? This paper utilizes the homeland-frontier surplus exchange model presented by Paynter in order to reevaluate the social and economic interrelationship between settlements located in Israel's central coastal plain and the Philistines' homelands to the south. This new approach is based mainly on the finds from Iron I Aphek being prepared for final publication by the author. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a detailed typological analysis of the locally produced Mycenaean IIIC:1 pottery assemblages from Tel Miqne-Ekron and Ashdod. Various aspects of the decoration and technology of this pottery group are examined, along with its stratigraphic context, regional distribution, and subsequent development. This synthesis of the initial phase of the Philistine ceramic corpus allows us to establish firm typological links between this assemblage and the Late Helladic IIIC Early and earlier part of the Late Helladic IIIC Middle periods in the Aegean, and with the transitional Late Cypriote IIC/IIIA and Late Cypriote IIIA periods on Cyprus. In absolute terms, we propose a date during the second quarter of the 12th century B.C.E. for the beginning of Philistine settlement on the southern Coastal Plain of Israel. The typology, chronology, and regional distribution of Mycenaean IIIC:1 pottery refute the notion that it was produced as a substitution for the Late Bronze Age Aegean imports. In addition, the identification of the stylistic development of this ware in Philistia, paralleled in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean, indicates continued contacts between the two regions in the first half of the 12th century B.C.E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the settlement of the Philistines which is attributed to mechanisms of trade. Settlement of Philistia and the absence of imported pottery; Mercantile nature of the Philistine settlement in light of the destruction levels at Pentapolis sites; Urban character of the Philistine settlement and the diversity of its associated material culture.

Acculturation influenced the development of Philistine culture for its entire 600-year history. Using an anthropological approach to examine archaeological and textual data, this article develops a model of the process of Philistine acculturation, which eventually led to the "Levantization" of Philistine culture. It concludes that the commonly held assumptions that the Philistines "lost their cultural core" or assimilated into Canaanite society are unjustified. The Philistines absorbed many outside cultural influences, but they modified those influences to suit their own needs and retained a distinct cultural and political identity throughout the Iron Age. The case of Philistine acculturation provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how archaeologists working in Syria-Palestine can contribute to, and benefit from, anthropological research while addressing historical problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pottery vessels decorated in typical Philistine bichrome style were found in almost every archaeological site excavated in the Jezreel Valley. In many other sites within the area that were studied only by surface survey, decorated sherds of the same type were found. Some of the surveyed sites are small fortified fortresses, others are unwalled villages that might be considered early Israelite settlements. The ashlar fortresses and the Philistine pottery are both dated stylistically and stratigraphically to two distinct phases: early 12th and late 11th centuries B.C. These facts might add relevant data for reconstructing the history of the valley during the early stages of the so-called Israelite period (Early Iron Age) and the relative role of the Philistines (and perhaps other Sea Peoples) in this part of Palestine. In every site, collared-rim pithoi were found in the same context as the bichrome decorated Philistine sherds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several shifts in the animal production systems that supported Tel Miqne-Ekron mark the transition between the Bronze Age occupations and the period of Philistine influence that signals the onset of the Iron Age. Pigs and cattle became more important in the economy at the expense of sheep and, in particular, goats. The pattern of change is in the direction of greater emphasis on intensively herded stock and a de-emphasis on extensive forms of management. The species selected reflect less interaction with hill country pastoral production. The animal bone statistics that suggest these conclusions were based on samples dated by ceramic context, an approach that produces sharper definition of patterns of change than stratigraphic position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examines art expressions and the distinction between the artistic personalities of individuals including artists, artistic people who are not artists, and Philistines in the U.S. According to the author, the distinction between artistic people and Philistines are more of an imaginary than real as many people who claim to be artistic are Philistines while those who claim to be unresponsive to art are only unresponsive to bad art. The theory is said to be also true with artists who paint beautiful pictures but prefer to live in ugly and vulgar homes. The author also pointed on the true order of art which is the first condition of being beautiful including cleanliness and domination of harmony.

An introduction is presented, in which the author discusses various topics within the issue on topics including study of the Philistine material culture, glyptics from the Bronze and Iron Age, and overall effect on planning and results of the project Uziel and Maeir.

The article talks about the canine tooth from a male hippopotamus recovered at the Philistine Temple Complex 650, the center of religious life in Ekron. Cultural modifications made on the tooth, which is regarded as rare, are described, including a row of decorative circular incisions. It discusses whether the tooth was brought to the temple as a sacrificial gift or as a symbolic artifact.