Philistine Pottery. These pottery pieces from Ashkelon bear early Philistine decorations. Photo: © The Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon.

The Philistines are best known from the Bible as the Israelites’ enemies, but they were much more than that. Recent archaeological discoveries help inform our understanding of their culture, economy, and even origins. In the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Daniel M. Master of Wheaton College looks at the biblical and archaeological evidence for the Philistines’ roots in “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines.”

Who Were the Philistines?

In the Bible, the Philistines are remembered as an uncircumcised people with advanced technology and a formidable military (Judges 14:3; 1 Samuel 13:19–20; Exodus 13:17). The Philistines frequently encroached on Israelite territory, which led to some battles, including the famous clash between David, the Israelite, and Goliath, the Philistine (1 Samuel 17). They were condemned for being idol worshipers (1 Samuel 5:1–5) and soothsayers (Isaiah 2:6). In short, the Philistines are portrayed quite negatively in the Bible.

They lived in the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza—the heartland of ancient Philistia on the Mediterranean Sea’s southeastern shore. Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, and Gath have been excavated in recent decades. The findings from these cities show that the Philistines had distinct pottery, weapons, tools, and houses. They also ate pork and had vast trade networks.

Philistine culture flourished during the Iron Age (12th through sixth centuries B.C.E.). Similar to the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the Philistines lost their autonomy toward the end of the Iron Age. They became subservient and paid tribute to the Assyrians, Egyptians, and then Babylonians, the great superpowers of the region who severely punished rebellion. For example, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed disloyal Ashkelon and Ekron and carried off many Philistines into exile.

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Where Did the Philistines Come From?

In his article, Daniel Master looks at archaeological and biblical evidence for the Philistines’ origins. He considers the accounts at Ramesses III’s mortuary temple at Medinet Habu. In the 12th century B.C.E., during the reign of Ramesses III, a confederation of tribes from the “islands” of the “northern countries” attacked Egypt—several times, both on sea and land. The Peleset, whom scholars connect with the Philistines, was named as one of these tribes.

Battle Ships. This drawing of a relief at Medinet Habu shows a sea battle between the Egyptians and people from the “islands,” who had invaded Egypt in the 12th century B.C.E. Photo: Public Domain.

On the way to Egypt, the confederation had traveled through the eastern Mediterranean and destroyed numerous cities, including Ugarit on the Syrian coast. Ammurapi, the last king of Ugarit, had written to surrounding kingdoms for help, when the “seven ships of the enemy” had arrived to ransack his kingdom. By the time help had come, though, it was too late: Ugarit lay in ruins.

Egypt defeated the confederation, as recorded on one of the temple walls at Medinet Habu. A relief from that temple also depicts a sea battle between the island tribes and the Egyptians. In it, the islanders wear distinct headdresses, which clearly set them apart from the Egyptians. After being defeated, some of these tribes settled on the southern coast of Canaan—in what would become the land of the Philistines. Egyptian sources, thus, seem to record a migration of people from the “islands” to Philistia.

Philistine Portrait? A confederation of island tribes, including the Peleset (Philistines), attacked Egypt in the 12th century B.C.E. This relief from Medinet Habu records a sea battle between the two forces. Photo: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Master also examines the evidence for Philistine origins in the Bible. The biblical authors remembered the Philistines as coming from a foreign land, from “Caphtor” (Genesis 10:14; Deuteronomy 2:23; 1 Chronicles 1:12; Amos 9:7; Jeremiah 47:4). Scholars have long drawn a connection between Caphtor and Crete. This is largely based on Egyptian inscriptions and paintings of “Keftiu” from the 15th and 14th centuries B.C.E., wherein the Keftiu are linked to the Minoan civilization, which was centered on Crete.

Migration Map. Who were the Philistines, and where did they come from? New archaeological evidence suggests that many of the Philistines originally came from Crete, called “Caphtor” in the Bible. Map: © Biblical Archaeology Society.

Excavations have shown that the Philistines had a distinct assemblage of artifacts. Master notes parallels between some early Philistine objects, especially from the 12th and 11th centuries B.C.E., and Aegean and Cypriot artifacts. Elements of Philistine material culture, then, also hint at an Aegean or Mediterranean origin for the Philistines.

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New evidence from Ashkelon further supports this connection. The Leon Levy Expedition excavated at Ashkelon from 1985–2016 under the direction of the late Lawrence Stager at Harvard University; for the last decade, Daniel Master co-directed excavations. They found some infant burials from the 12th century B.C.E., as well as a Philistine cemetery with burials from the 11th through eighth centuries B.C.E. Teaming up with scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, they were able to analyze DNA from seven of these individuals. When they looked at the 12th-century infants’ DNA, they discovered that the infants had some European ancestry. Crete proved to be one of the best matches for the infants’ heritage—when considering all of their genetic material. Yet other places in the western Mediterranean, such as Iberia, also provided a good match.

Interestingly, in the later individuals from Ashkelon’s cemetery, this European ancestry had been so diluted to barely register. Master explains that, by the tenth century B.C.E., enough intermarriage had taken place between the Philistines and the local Levantine population that the Philistines looked a lot like their neighbors:

While there was some evidence of the same Western European Hunter-Gatherer genetic input, for all statistical purposes, it could not be identified for certain. The best models showed that these people [the tenth- and ninth-century individuals buried in Ashkelon’s cemetery] were descendants of both the 12th-century inhabitants and the earlier Bronze Age inhabitants. It appears from these results that so much intermarriage had taken place between the original immigrants and the people around them that the genetic makeup of Ashkelon’s inhabitants had lost its immigrant distinctiveness.

Yet Master clarifies that, at this point in history, the Philistines still thought of themselves as distinct, as evident in a seventh-century inscription from the Philistine city of Ekron. The inscription names Ekron’s king as Ikausu, which means “Achaean” or “Greek.” The name Ikausu (or Achish) also appears in 1 Samuel 21:10 as Gath’s king.

The Philistines remembered their foreign origins

Master concludes that the new DNA evidence, coupled with the biblical and archaeological testimonies, suggests that the Philistines originated in Crete. That is not to say that the Philistines were a homogenous group, all coming from the Aegean world, but it seems that many Philistines did indeed migrate from there, bringing with them vestiges of Minoan culture. Learn more about this ancient people in Daniel M. Master’s article “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines,” published in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

Subscribers: Read the full article “Piece by Piece: Exploring the Origins of the Philistines” by Daniel M. Master in the Spring 2022 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

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This article first appeared in Bible History Daily on March 23, 2022.

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The post Who Were the Philistines, and Where Did They Come From? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Aerial view of Khirbet al-Ra‘i. Courtesy Emil Ajem, Israel Antiquities Authority.

What do a Judahite scribe, a Roman-era Greek historian, and a 17th-century explorer all have in common? Each holds a piece of the puzzle to the elusive location of a famous biblical site—ancient Ziklag.

For years, scholars have theorized about the location of biblical Ziklag, notable in the Bible as young David’s haven from King Saul. One suggestion, which has garnered much attention, is that Ziklag should be identified with the tenth-century B.C.E. hilltop site of Khirbet al-Ra’i in the Judean Shephelah. In a recent article, published in the Israel Exploration Journal, scholars Zachary Thomas and Chris McKinney challenge this proposal. Thomas and McKinney bring together ancient literary sources and the results of earlier excavations to challenge the Khirbet al-Ra’i proposal and suggest a new theory, that biblical Ziklag is actually the far-lesser known site of Tell esh-Shari’a in the northwestern Negev.

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Map of various cities in the region around al-Ra’i and esh Shari’a. Courtesy Biblical Archaeology Society.

But where was this biblical city? Initially, the excavators of Khirbet al-Ra’i proposed their site was the best candidate for ancient Ziklag. Radiocarbon dates indicate settlement at the site in the early tenth century B.C.E., the period associated with King David. Scholars also point to the site’s large assemblage of Philistine pottery, as well as Khirbet al-Ra’i’s proximity to Gath and the Negev highlands. Thomas and McKinney argue, however, that Khirbet al-Ra’i cannot be ancient Ziklag because the site’s major phases of occupation do not coincide with the biblical account. Moreover, they posit that the biblical authors listed Ziklag among the cities of the northern Negev or the Beersheba Basin, and that it was not a city in the Shephelah, where Khirbet al-Ra’i is located (Joshua 19:1–10).

Tell esh-Shari’a, recently identified as a more likely candidate for biblical Ziklag. Danny Gershoni, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Instead, Thomas and McKinney argue that the little-known site of Tell esh-Shari’a, located in the northern Negev, halfway between Gaza and Beersheba, is a much better candidate for biblical Ziklag. Archaeological evidence from Tell esh-Shari’a suggests continuous occupation from the Middle Bronze Age to the early Roman period. Additionally, written records that describe Ziklag’s location—ranging from the Greek historian Eusebius’s Onomasticon to the travel logs of a 17th-century explorer—place the city about 15 miles east of Gaza, which aligns much more closely with the geographic location given in the biblical account. While this new identification raises exciting questions about Tell esh-Shari’a and its importance during the time of King David, the debate about Ziklag’s true location will surely continue.

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The post Biblical Ziklag and Mapping the Bible appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Mentioned throughout the Hebrew Bible as terrifying fighters, the Philistines were ancient Israel’s greatest enemy … or were they? Decades of excavation at Tell es-Safi (biblical Gath), the largest and most powerful of the Philistine cities, have shed dramatic new light on this infamous biblical people.

BAR Assistant Editor Nathan Steinmeyer caught up with Aren Maeir, director of the Tell es-Safi/Gath excavation, to dig deeper into the Philistines, where they came from, and what made their culture so distinctive. Join us on-site for this in-depth interview and learn how the Philistines first came to Canaan, how they relate to the famous Sea Peoples, and when and why they finally disappeared. Then be sure to check out Aren Maeir’s article “Gath of the Philistines: A New View of Ancient Israel’s Archenemy” in the Fall 2024 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review.

This article was first published in Bible History Daily on August 19, 2024.

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View of the valley known as the Valley of Rephaim today. Courtesy Photo Companion to the Bible, 2 Samuel.

Mentioned in connection with King David’s war against the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-25), the Valley of Rephaim is one of many biblical locations whose exact location is less than certain. Although the valley has traditionally been located near Jerusalem, Sabine Kleinman, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, has a new theory. Publishing in the Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament, Kleiman argues that the Valley of Rephaim was located much farther south, very close to another famous biblical valley, the Valley of Elah.

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Defeating Rapha

According to the Bible, after David was anointed king, the Philistines launched an attack, taking up position in the Valley of Rephaim. Based largely on the fact that this story comes immediately after David’s conquest of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5), most scholars have assumed the valley was nearby. Indeed, a valley by this name is located just a few miles outside Jerusalem, on the road to Tel Aviv. However, even since the earliest efforts to compile geographic lists of biblical places, the accepted location of this valley has frequently changed.

According to Kleiman, the valley’s association with Jerusalem has led scholars to overlook clues within the biblical text itself, particularly references to other geographic markers, such as Geba and the stronghold, Baal-Perazim. Although the location of these places is sometimes debated, there are compelling arguments for placing them not near Jerusalem, but farther south, near the Valley of Elah. The stronghold, for instance, is frequently associated with the site of Adullam, where David camped when he fled from Achish of Gath, and which features in several other biblical stories. Of particular interest is 2 Samuel 23 13–17, where the Philistines are yet again encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. This time, however, the stronghold to which David goes is explicitly mentioned as being near Adullam.

Map of the region surrounding the proposed Valley of Rephaim. Courtesy A. Kleiman and Sabine Kleiman.

Baal-Perazim, associated in the Bible with a source of water, may be identified with a spring near Adullam named ‘Ain Faris, a possible corruption of the name Perazim. Interestingly, a third site in the area, Khirbat ‘Id el-Ma, could be a corruption of the Hebrew word for “stronghold” (metzudah). This site is also features a large, fortified structure that dates to around the time of David.

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However, locating the Valley of Rephaim in this area does more than just agree with the other geographic markers in the Bible. According to Kleiman, it may explain the very origins of the valley’s name. When David reigned during the tenth century BCE, the city of Gath was one of the most powerful Philistine cities. It controlled a significant portion of the lowlands, particularly the area nearest to the events recorded in 2 Samuel 5 and 23. As recorded in 2 Samuel 21:15–22, Gath was home to the sons of Rapha. Although the sons of Rapha were remembered as giants, excavations at the site of Gath (Tell es-Safi) have uncovered an inscription and several stamp seal impressions that refer to the family of Rapha. Based on the style of the impressions, it is evident that the family of Rapha was a highly esteemed family within the city. As laid out by Kleiman, it is plausible that the biblical “sons of Rapha” can be associated with the family of Rapha known from Gath. Whether they were giants or not is another question. Regardless, as Gath held control over much of the area, the name of the valley may well originate with this family.

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The post Where Is the Valley of Rephaim? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Aerial view of Philistine Gath. Courtesy Photo Companion to the Bible, Joshua.

Although the Philistines are well known from ancient texts, including the Hebrew Bible, and their cities have been extensively excavated, many questions remain about their culture and religion. A study published in the journal Scientific Reports attempts to provide answers to some of these questions by examining the plant remains from two excavated Philistine temples in the ancient city of Gath, the birthplace of the biblical figure Goliath.

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Gath’s Nature Cult

Examining two successive temples at Gath, which dated from the tenth to ninth centuries BCE, archaeologists identified dozens of plant species, including cereals, fruits, pulses, and herbs. While it is not surprising to find plant remains in an ancient temple, the types and quantities could tell researchers a great deal about Philistine cultic practices. The results of the study indicate the Philistine temple at Gath was likely associated with nature and agriculture. More interestingly, it suggests temple worship had close similarities with later Aegean cults, specifically the cult of Hera, the Greek mother goddess.

Among the plants identified in the temples, several stood out, including the fruit of the chaste tree. Although a local plant, the large quantity of chaste tree fruit is unique in the region and indicates its importance in Philistine cult. The only other region where the fruit took on a religious significance was Greece, where it was used in both Sparta and on the island of Samos as part of the cult of Hera. Numerous loom weights were also found in the temple, suggesting its association with weaving and Asherah, one of the Canaanite mother goddesses.

Flowers of the chaste tree. Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Researchers also discovered the floral remains of crown daisies, which are known to have been used in ancient Greek religion to adorn statues of the goddess Artemis, while flowers were also a common element in the cult of Hera. This is a notable difference from Levantine religions, whose cultic symbolism was focused more on crops and trees. The presence of the chaste tree and the crown daisy could connect Philistine cultic tradition to the wider cult of Aegean and Mycenean mother-goddess worship. The similarities between the Aegean and Philistine religions would be telling, as many scholars believe the Philistines, part of the infamous Sea Peoples, originated in the Aegean.

Other plants discovered in the temples included those used for medicine, food, decoration, incense, and alcohol. Some plants even had psychoactive properties. In addition, researchers found that most of the plants were processed on-site at the temples and, furthermore, that this processing was meant to prepare cultic offerings rather than food products for storage and later consumption. This indicates that plant processing likely played an important role within the Philistine cult.

As the lead researcher, Suembikya Frumin, told the Times of Israel,  “The study revealed that the Philistine religion relied on the magic and power of nature, such as running water and seasonality, aspects that influence human health and life.”

This article was originally published in Bible History Daily on March 1, 2024.

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The post Plants and the Philistine Cult at Gath appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Tel Azekah, the home of the prophet Micah? Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Where is the biblical town of Moresheth-Gath, the birthplace of the prophet Micah? The exact location of Moresheth-Gath, a site that is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible, has continued to elude scholars. Now, a pair of scholars have suggested a fascinating new theory. Publishing in the journal Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, Oded Lipschits, a professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University, and Jakob Wöhrle, a professor of Old Testament at the University of Tübingen, propose that Moresheth-Gath be identified with biblical Azekah. But how did one site get two biblical names?

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Discovering Micah’s Moresheth-Gath

Mentioned only three times in the Bible, the birthplace of the prophet Micah is certainly an enigma, with modern scholars suggesting nearly a dozen archaeological sites as Moresheth-Gath, but none seemed to fit Micah’s description. So could this mysterious town be none other than the biblical site of Azekah, a powerful stronghold of Judah?

One of the earliest references to the city of Moresheth-Gath comes from the Amarna letters, where a letter from the king of Gath describes a city in his territory known as Murashtu, an Akkadian rendering of the name Moresheth. This letter (and other texts where the site is mentioned) help establish the location of Moresheth-Gath firmly in the territory of Gath, likely in the Elah Valley, which was a strategically important corridor through the Judean foothills. Micah 1:13–16 gives more information about Moresheth. Micah’s lament for the cities that would be destroyed by Sennacherib (c. 701 BCE) includes Moresheth-Gath among a list of fortified Judahite cities in the Shephelah, pairing it closely with the site of Lachish just 15 miles to the south.

The Elah Valley as seen from on top of Tel Azekah. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Meanwhile, texts naming the site of Azekah are lacking, at least before its conquest by Judah at the end of the ninth century BCE. Despite the lack of textual records, archaeology shows that the site was already well established by the Bronze Age (c. 3300–1200 BCE), when it was an on-again, off-again vassal city of nearby Gath. Strong in its own right, Azekah, located in the Elah Valley, appears to have existed in the shadow of the larger Gath. Despite this, the city was certainly an important and prosperous one. But there is an issue. The earliest references to Azekah, which appear only in the late ninth century, describe it as a Judahite city that was closely linked to nearby Lachish rather than Gath. By contrast, during this period, the name Moresheth-Gath no longer appears in textual sources outside of the biblical account.

Excavations at Azekah. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

Even though we lack clear textual references to Azekah’s name prior to the ninth century, the available textual and biblical evidence seems to indicate that Azekah and Moresheth-Gath were actually one and the same. According to Lipschits and Wöhrle, “In all likelihood, Azekah is the new name of Moresheth-Gath given to the city by Judahite rulers after taking control of the western Shephelah, not before the end of the ninth century BCE.” However, despite the official name change during the time of the Judahite kingdom, local residents, including the prophet Micah, continued to call the city by its traditional name, Moresheth-Gath.

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Digging In: Tel Azekah

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The Last Days of Canaanite Azekah

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The post Has the Home of the Prophet Micah Been Found? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

A PHILISTINE CAPITAL: In Area D of Gath’s lower city, Jeff Chadwick stands atop the excavated foundation of the late Iron Age I city wall. Courtesy Maria Eniukhina, Aren Maeir, Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project.

The ancient city of Gath (modern Tell es-Safi in southern Israel) is perhaps best known as a capital of the Philistine pentapolis during much of the Iron Age (c. 1200–586 BCE). However, over a quarter century of excavation at the site has revealed an incredibly dynamic city that would meet its eventual end after a series of successive conquests in the ninth and eighth centuries BCE. As discussed in an article by archaeologist Jeffrey Chadwick in the Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, the site gradually transformed from a massive center for Philistine life to a Judahite border town and finally to an abandoned mound.

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Gath: A Philistine Capital

Long before the Philistines came onto the stage, the site of Gath was an important and powerful Canaanite city, with an imposing city wall dating back to the Early Bronze Age III (c. 2700–2300 BCE). However, it was Gath of the Philistines that was known to the biblical writers, for with the encroachment of the Sea Peoples into the southern Levant in the Iron Age I (c. 1200–1000 BCE), the city became a key component in the network of Philistine city-states. Philistine Gath is mentioned multiple times in the Hebrew Bible, such as in the story of David seeking refuge at Gath (1 Samuel 21).

Under the Philistines, Gath quickly became the largest city in the entire southern Levant. The city extended across more than 125 acres and included both the thousand-year-old city wall around the top of the tell as well as an impressive Iron Age wall that surrounded the lower city. Chadwick, a professor at Brigham Young University and longtime field director at Tell es-Safi, told Bible History Daily, “the most unexpected thing I think we have found was how large and sophisticated Gath’s fortifications and water system were already in Iron Age I.” However, the sheer size of Gath did not make it impenetrable, and in c. 830 BCE, the city fell to the Aramean army of Hazael of Damascus, whose campaign is mentioned in 2 Kings 12:17.

Through 25 years of excavation at Gath, the team—directed by Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University—has discovered an incredible amount of evidence of this biblical battle and the period leading up to it. Remarkably, the team was even able to identify a section of the city wall where they believe the Arameans finally broke through. As described by Chadwick, the team discovered several other remarkable features that appear to have been built in anticipation of the attack. These include an extra layer of bricks built against the wall, the intentional narrowing of the city gates, at least one additional tower, as well as a series of houses running adjacent to the wall that were intentionally filled with earth. The filled-in houses effectively made the city wall more than 20 feet thick. According to Chadwick, “The filling of these rooms was an act of considerable desperation, and it betrays the intense drama of the situation and the fear of the Philistines in the face of the Aramean attackers.”

Chadwick stands inside an excavated room built directly against the Iron Age I city wall in Area D of Gath’s lower city. This room had been completely filled with grey soil during the Aramean siege of Gath. The fill soil preserved the rooms brick walls, and in this case also the white plaster applied to the walls [the fill was excavated away in this photo]. Courtesy Maria Eniukhina, Aren Maeir, Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project.

Gath: A Judahite City

Following the end of Philistine rule at Gath, the city sat uninhabited for several decades. During this time, in the early eighth century, Gath—as well as numerous other sites in the southern Levant—was devastated by a large earthquake, likely the very same one mentioned in the Book of Amos (1:1). The site continued to be a ghost town until the mid to late eighth century, when it was incorporated into the slowly expanding Kingdom of Judah. As seen in the archaeological record, the Judahite city was considerably smaller than the Philistine capital, although it was still quite large at around 60 acres. Several domestic structures were uncovered from this period, including standard “Israelite” four-room houses.

Project Director Aren Maeir (left) and Field Archaeologist Jeff Chadwick (right) are seen standing atop the stone foundation of part of the Iron Age I fortification wall which enclosed the large water plaza of the lower city at Gath of the Philistines. Courtesy Jeff Chadwick, Aren Maeir, Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project.

At the latest, Gath was incorporated into the Kingdom of Judah during the reign of Hezekiah or his father Ahaz. Hezekiah is known from both biblical and Assyrian sources as having waged an expansionist war against the Philistine city-states in his attempt to force them into joining his rebellion against the Assyrian Empire. Chadwick, however, makes another suggestion. According to 2 Chronicles, Hezekiah’s great-grandfather, King Uzziah, “went out and made war against the Philistines and broke down the wall of Gath” (26:6). Yet, Uzziah’s reign would only begin around 792 BCE, several decades after the destruction of Gath by Hazael of Damascus.

Thus, it would have been impossible for Uzziah to have broken down the wall of Gath as an act of conquest against the Philistine city, which by that time was uninhabited. Instead, Chadwick suggests that the “breaking of the wall” is a reference to the king’s rebuilding of Gath, not its destruction. This theory is, in part, based on the discovery of several sections of the Philistine city wall where the stones of the wall were used to build the later Judahite buildings. A similar situation was found regarding the Philistine-era glacis. Given that two periods of Judahite habitation were found at Gath, it is certainly possible that this phase began in the mid-eighth century under Uzziah, although other archaeologists are less confident about this interpretation.

Regardless of when Judahite occupation began, it did not last long. Around 712 BCE, Sargon II carried out a large-scale campaign to the southern Levant. During this campaign, he laid siege to and destroyed much of the city. According to his own inscription, Sargon took away the inhabitants of Gath as captives. The site was quickly resettled, though only a decade later, Sargon’s son, Sennacherib, finished what his father had started. Waging war against Hezekiah, Sennacherib captured large sections of the Kingdom of Judah in 701 BCE. The Assyrian army destroyed many of Judah’s cities and towns, including Gath, Azekah, Lachish, and others.

Aerial view of Tell es-Safi/Gath, situated in the lush Elah Valley of southern Israel. Courtesy Photo Companion to the Bible, 2 Kings.

“Gath’s remarkable combination of location, size, and physical geography made it not only a natural site to inhabit but gave it a prominence above any other site for miles around,” said Chadwick in communication with Bible History Daily. “The tell’s 300-foot-tall height above the surrounding valley afforded superior defensibility, it’s water supply in the Elah stream aquifer was prolific and dependable, and the vast amount of arable land all around the tell, particularly in wide and fertile Elah Valley’s alluvial soil, meant that food and fuel resources were always abundant. Gath had a perfect combination of factors that drew settlement for centuries and centuries.” Yet, not even these natural benefits could stop the onslaught of time, as Gath went from being a Canaanite city to a Philistine capital to a Judahite border town, and finally a ruined mound.

Read more in Bible History Daily:

The Destruction of Philistine Gath

Philistine and Israelite Religion at Tell es-Safi/Gath

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Excavating Philistine Gath: Have We Found Goliath’s Hometown?

In the Path of Sennacherib

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

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An ancient game board from Tell es-Safi/Gath. Courtesy Maria Eniukhina – photographer Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project.

Evidence of ancient board games in the biblical world dates back millennia. While in some regions these games took on religious significance, they were no less a part of daily life in the southern Levant. According to a new study, published in the journal Palestine Exploration Quarterly, excavations at Tell es-Safi (biblical Gath) in southern Israel have revealed numerous game boards and gaming pieces that were used in domestic contexts. Although board games seem rather mundane, their presence tells us a lot about daily life in the ancient world.

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Board Games and Daily Life 

During the excavation of the Early Bronze Age III (2900–2500 B.C.E.) layers at Tell es-Safi, archaeologists uncovered four fragmentary game boards and numerous game and casting pieces. While all the game boards featured the Canaanite game known as 30 Houses, one board also included the game Senet on its reverse. Senet was well known in ancient Egypt, where it was frequently played in cultic contexts. In the southern Levant, however, including at Tell es-Safi, ancient board games are predominantly uncovered in domestic or public contexts. These discoveries shed light on daily life in ancient Canaan, demonstrating the importance of gaming within private and social life in the region nearly 5,000 years ago.

A modern recreation of the Egyptian game Senet. Courtesy Lavinia Nalty.

While Egyptian board games were typically ornately constructed and decorated, the Canaanite versions were made from more mundane materials. All of the boards discovered at Tell es-Safi were constructed of local soft chalk, while the playing pieces were made of lightly worked pebbles and small bones. The most common bones used were those of sheep, goats, and other ruminants, specifically small ankle bones known as astragali. The team was able to identify these as game and casting pieces (rudimentary dice) based on their specific wear pattern and indications of intentional flattening on some of the pieces’ edges. Such patterns would have resulted from being routinely handled and rolled.

The use of these readily available materials demonstrates that these games were crafted locally and likely played by all levels of society. The find of one board that included both Senet and 30 Houses may indicate that these two games had varying levels of difficulty, with one played by children and the other by adults. While similar double-sided board games are known from later periods in Egypt and the Levant, this is the only example from the Early Bronze Age that has been discovered.

A carved stone game piece from Tell es-Safi/Gath. Courtesy Maria Eniukhina – photographer Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project.

The History of Ancient Board Games

Several ancient board games are known from the Near East, with the most famous being the Egyptian game Senet and the Mesopotamian Royal Game of Ur. Both of these gaming traditions were apparently carried to the Levant through trade, migration, and even conflict. These games were then modified in Canaan, leading to the development of the game 30 Houses from Senet and 20 Houses from the Royal Game of Ur. Senet likely reached the Levant during the Early Bronze Age, a time of extensive Egyptian influence in Canaan. Boards for the game 30 Houses have been found throughout the Levant during the Bronze and Iron Ages (fourth–first millennia B.C.E.). Similarly, 20 Houses made its way from the Levant to Egypt during the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 B.C.E.), a period when Egypt and Canaan were in regular contact.

A modern recreation of the Mesopotamian Royal Game of Ur. Courtesy Lavinia Nalty.

Read more in Bible History Daily:

Board Games Were Status Symbols in the Ancient World

Roman Game Board Found in Turkey

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Excavating Philistine Gath: Have We Found Goliath’s Hometown?

The Last Days of Canaanite Azekah

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Remains of the various vessels shattered by the eighth-century B.C.E. earthquake that struck Jerusalem and other cities throughout Israel and Judah. Credit: Eliyahu Yanai, City of David

According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, evidence for a powerful earthquake mentioned by the prophets Amos and Zechariah has been discovered in Jerusalem. According to excavation directors Joe Uziel and Ortal Chalaf, the evidence was found in a destruction layer of the City of David Archaeological Park. Amid the destruction, which dates to the mid-eighth century B.C.E., they found collapsed walls and shattered vessels, but no signs of fire. After extensive research, the team concluded the destruction must have resulted from the famed earthquake that occurred in the lands of Israel and Judah during the reign of Uzziah, king of Judah.

The earthquake is mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible, first in Amos 1:1, which says that Amos began prophesying two years before the earthquake occurred. The quake is also referenced in Zechariah 14:5, where Zechariah compares the devastation wrought by the approaching end of days to the earthquake that shook Judah during the reign of King Uzziah. Given that Zechariah lived two centuries after Amos, the earthquake must have been extreme enough to leave a lasting impression on the Judean consciousness. Indeed, the IAA excavators believe it was “probably one of the strongest and most damaging earthquakes in ancient times.”

Evidence for this powerful eighth-century B.C.E. earthquake has now been discovered in several sites across modern Israel, including Hazor, Gezer, Tel Agol, and Tell es-Safi. The Jerusalem excavation, however, provides the first evidence that the quake impacted the Judean hill country as well.

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A June, 2021 analysis of the evidence from the site of Tel Agol in the Jezreel Valley has shed further light on this momentous earthquake. The fortress of Tel Agol, first constructed in the tenth century B.C.E., allowed the Kingdom of Israel to control and watch over the strategic valley. Around the mid-eighth century, large sections of the fortress’s walls were destroyed by what the excavators concluded could only have been an earthquake. Although some sections were rebuilt, the fortress never regained its original prominence.

While the eighth-century earthquake itself is now well documented through archaeological evidence, each new discoveryprovides a fuller picture of the quake’s destructive power. The evidence shows that the quake wrought devastation from Hazor in the north to Tell es-Safi in the south, a swath of destruction more than 125 miles long—certainly a powerful and remarkable event that was remembered by the biblical prophets.

Read more in the Bas Library

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Earthquake!:Inspiration for Armageddon by Amos NurHagai Ron

Almost 200 of the approximately 400 archaeological sites excavated in Israel show possible evidence of earthquake destruction: fallen columns lying like parallel toothpicks, collapsed walls, crushed skeletons and slipped keystones as well as a regional pattern of destruction

New Light on the Nabataeans: Recent excavations at the rose red city of Petra reveal devastation by the same earthquake which destroyed Jerusalem in 363 A.D. by Philip C. Hammond

Suddenly, and without warning, at the third hour of the night (the third hour after sunset according to Roman practice) the streets of Jerusalem trembled and buckled, crushing two hundred years of hope into a pile of dust. No longer would there be any possibility of rebuilding the Temple. A hundred and twenty miles south of Jerusalem, on the other side of the Jordan, the magnificent facade of Petra’s theater fell inward.

The Volcano Explains Everything—Or Does It?: Does this crater from an ancient volcanic eruption hold the answer to the mysteries of the Exodus? by Manfred Bietak

The idea of associating the Thera eruption with the unusual tempest in the Tempest Stela of Ahmose has also been suggested a number of times, although the idea has also been refuted. And the association of the Exodus with the Thera eruption is also not new. Already in 1981, Hans Goedicke, then professor at The Johns Hopkins University, compared the features in the Exodus narrative with a volcanic eruption and its aftereffects.

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Photo: Spokesman. Civil Administration

For almost two hundred years, Beit El has been claimed by some scholars as the site of biblical Bethel, where in the Bible, Jacob dreamed of his famous ladder (Genesis 28:19). The ongoing Khirbet Kfar Mor excavations there have uncovered a rare Second Temple Period gaming die.

Games have been a part of civilization for a long time, possibly as long as civilization itself. Games of sport in the ancient Hellenic world inspired the modern Olympics. As Stephen G. Miller explains in “The Other Games: When Greeks Flocked to Nemea” (Archaeology Odyssey, July/Aug 2004), “The sanctuary at Olympia was only one of four sites where games were held. Greeks also flocked to games at Delphi, Isthmia and Nemea.” Games were so important that truce protected the audience as they traveled to watch. Each site awarded a different crown, “Olive at Olympia, laurel at Delphi, pine at Isthmia and wild celery at Nemea.” Circuit-victors were those who collected all four.

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Drinking games have also been discovered. At what might have been biblical Bethsaida  (“Searching for Bethsaida: The Case for et-Tell” Biblical Archaeology Review, Spring 2020), excavators discovered the Greek drinking game kottobas represented on an ancient potsherd. “In this game, the participants, reclining on their couches, competed by throwing wine at a plate situated on a pole and causing it to fall and break,” writes et-Tell Dig Director Rami Arav.

Courtesy Tell es-Safi/Gath

And of course, there have been board games discovered from the ancient Levant. As we covered in an article, “Archaeological Views: Board Games in Biblical Gath” (Biblical Archaeology Review, Sept/Oct 2017), “…board games enjoyed popularity among all social strata of ancient societies in Canaan.” The Game of 30 Squares was the most common game of Bronze Age Canaan. It’s a travel game, won by getting a piece through all the squares to the end of the path. 3o Squares boards were found in Bronze Age Tell es-Safi (biblical Gath), about 5,000 years old.

At Khirbet Kfar Mor, excavations are showing the every day life of Jewish villagers from 2,000-2,500 years ago. The die is the first evidence of gaming that the Civil Administration has uncovered, but there may well be more to discover. Whether the die was used in a game of drinking, with a board game, or on its own, it was probably used for fun and relaxation. Wherever they gather, humans do like to play.

Read more in Bible History Daily:

Ancient Games. Turkish archaeologists working on a 5,000-year-old burial uncovered early evidence of an unexpected type of tradition: games.

Board Games Were Status Symbols in the Ancient World. In the ancient world, board games, one of the world’s oldest hobbies, were played not only to pass the time, but also to signify the wealth and status of the players, according to a new study. Mark Hall, an historian with the Perth Museum and Art Gallery in Scotland, believes…

Ancient Board Games. Archaeologists have uncovered over 25 inscriptions in Jerusalem’s Old City alone that served as public boards for ancient games.

What Were the Ancient Olympics Like?. Beginning in 776 B.C. as a simple foot race, the quadrennial Olympic Games grew—during a span of 1,200 years—into the most prestigious athletic/religious festival of the Greek-speaking world.

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