|
|
|
|
|
The Philistines....
|
It has been suggested that the Philistines formed part of
the great naval confederacy, the "Sea Peoples", who had wandered, at the
beginning of the 12th century BCE, from their homeland in southern
Greece
and the Aegean islands to the shores of the Mediterranean and repeatedly
attacked Egypt during the later Nineteenth Dynasty. Though eventually
repulsed by Ramesses III, he was, according to the theory, apparently unable
to dislodge them from their settlements in Palestine. |
|
 |
|
Papyrus Harris I details the achievements of the reign of
Ramesses III. In the brief description of the outcome of the battles in year
8 is the description of the fate of the Sea Peoples. Ramesses tells us that,
having brought the imprisoned Sea Peoples to Egypt, he "settled them in
strongholds, bound in my name. Numerous were their classes like
hundred-thousands. I taxed them all, in clothing and grain from the
storehouses and granaries each year." Some scholars suggest it is likely
that these "strongholds" were actually fortified towns in southern
Canaan, the cities that would eventually become the five cities of the Philistines. |
|
|
|
|
|
The Sea
People inscription
|
|
The connection between Mycenean culture and
Philistine
culture was made clearer by finds at the excavation of Ekron, one of the
five Philistine cities in Canaan, unearthed 1981-1996. Especially notable is
the early Philistine pottery decorated in shades of brown and black, later
developing into the distinctive black and red decorations on white slip. |
|
|
|
|
Also of particular interest, a large, well constructed
building covering 240 square meters was discovered at Ekron. Its walls are
broad, designed to support a second story, and its wide, elaborate entrance
leads to a large hall, partly covered with a roof supported on a row of
columns. In the floor of the hall is a circular hearth paved with pebbles,
as is typical in Mycenean buildings; other unusual architectural features
are paved benches and podiums. Among the finds are three small bronze wheels
with eight spokes. Such wheels are known to have served as wheels for
portable cultic stands in the Aegean region during this period, and it is
therefore assumed that this building served cultic functions. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
