Plant, fruit analysis from Goliath's biblical city sheds light on Philistine rituals

Jerusalem Post ^ | February 26, 2024 | Judy Siegel-Itzkovich

[SunkenCiv]

In the systematic excavation project of the temple area in the lower city of Gath, a team from Bar-Ilan University has overseen the reconstruction of the plants used in Philistine rituals.

The mysterious culture of the Philistines that flourished during the Iron Age (1200-604 BCE) profoundly affected the southern Levant's cultural history, agronomy, and dietary customs. More than a quarter century of excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath in central Israel, identified as the biblical Gath of the Philistines and the home of Goliath, has provided a unique window into the world of this ancient civilization.

In the systematic excavation project of the temple area in the lower city of Gath, a team from Bar-Ilan University (BIU) in Ramat Gan – led by archaeology Prof. Aren Maeir and archaeobotany Prof. Ehud Weiss – has overseen the reconstruction of the plants used in Philistine rituals...

While many aspects of Philistine culture are well-documented, the specifics of Philistine religious practices and gods have long remained shrouded in mystery...

The discovery of numerous plants in two temples unearthed at the site unraveled unprecedented insights into Philistine cultic rituals and beliefs – the food ingredients in their temple, the timing of ceremonies, and plants for temple decoration. Freshwater, agriculture, and the cyclical birth, death, and rebirth of a plant are recognized and venerated as transformative, and even magical, in the oldest myths, such as the Gilgamesh epic, the tale of Aqhat, and the worship of deities such as Tammuz, Ishtar, and Baal, they wrote. There is evidence of cultural connections between specific cultic traditions and certain plants.

The fact that the wild plants in the assemblages are widespread in the Shephelah may also show that the Philistines used any fresh plants that could be used for decoration.

[SunkenCiv]

Photograph of Chaste tree fruits produced using stereoscopic light microscope

credit: Dr. Suembikya Frumin

[SunkenCiv]

[SunkenCiv]

Keywords philistine, philistines, philistia, gath, and goliath, sorted, edited (Gazan and NASA topics redacted):

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[Beowulf9]

Interesting article.

[SunkenCiv]

When they weren’t crushing their neighbors, apparently they collected herbs. :^)

Sex, drugs and Philistines: A biblical psychedelic scene
https://freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3295125/posts

Giving Goliath His Due (probably out of print)
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/2552762/posts?page=12#12

[Fai Mao]

The Philistines were Greeks, the Egyptian “Sea Peoplea”

[Beowulf9]

A peaceful people…

[SunkenCiv]

Probably vegan. :^)

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I had a kinsman who claimed to know more about the Bible than anyone as he got all his info from History TV shows. Never cracked a bible in his life.
After he got through talking about what he heard on a TV history show everyone around realized how the ancient Philistines felt when “ slain by the jawbone of an ass.”

[SunkenCiv]

:^)

[SunkenCiv]

No, they weren’t.

[Fai Mao]

They were either Greeks or Phonecians. I have read historical papers saying they were descendants of people who fled Crete after the tsunami that destroyed the civilization there. But basically Greeks

[SunkenCiv]

They were Greeks, just not from Philistia, and the "Sea Peoples"' geographical origin is still unanswered because the conventional pseudochronology has the only New Kingdom pharaohs who mention them far too early on the calendar.