In the Wake of the Sea Peoples and in the Footsteps of Goliath
The University of Melbourne Collaboration with the Bar-Ilan Excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath
This project represents a collaboration to excavate the site of Tell es-Safi (Israel), ancient Gath, the largest of five Philistine cities, the biblical home of Goliath. We are documenting new architectural features and finds, and analyzing and interpreting the use of buildings, built features (i.e. hearths), and associated artifacts (utilitarian and symbolic).
Recent work has uncovered several large deposits of feasting debris and ritual objects, locally made Mycenaean-style pottery, and numerous Aegean-style hearths, one of them dated to the 10th century BCE, by a sealing of the Egyptian Pharaoh Siamoun. Reconstructing the daily lives of the Philistines, is advancing our knowledge of the formulation of Philistine ethnic and cultural identity, believed to be the product of settlement by groups of Sea Peoples. The Sea Peoples are believed to include Mycenaean-Greek and Cypriot refugees that became involved in a cascade effect of destructions across the Mediterranean after the collapse of their civilization at the end of the Bronze Age (1180 BCE). In contrast to biblical accounts of the Philistines, which portray them as corrupt, evil, and decadent, archaeology shows them to be an artistically and technologically advanced culture, who introduced iron working to the region.
This is a training excavation, which includes field trips to local sites, and evening lectures on biblical archaeology. Student volunteers at any level and from any discipline are welcome to join us each July.