https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3f412e68 ... 35a29d3880The Guardian wrote: Philistines more sophisticated than given credit for, say reseachers
Discovery of 3,000-year-old cemetery in Ashkelon will dispel many myths and may force rethinking of popular insult
Little was known about the Philistines before the recent excavation in the Israeli port city of Ashkelon. The famed archenemies of the ancient Israelites – Goliath was a Philistine – flourished in this area of the Mediterranean, starting in the 12th century BC, but their way of life and origin have remained a mystery.
That stands to change after what researchers have called the first discovery of a Philistine cemetery. It contains the remains of about 150 people in numerous burial chambers, some containing surprisingly sophisticated items.
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“The cosmopolitan life here is so much more elegant and worldly and connected with other parts of the eastern Mediterranean,” Stager said, adding that this was in contrast to the more modest village lifestyle of the Israelites who lived in the hills to the east.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/201 ... aeologists