An ancient Philistine cemetery newly unearthed by archeologists offers clues to the home of the biblical story of David and Goliath.
Located at Ashkelon, in southern Israel, the 3,000-year-old burial ground is a key discovery at the site where more than 30 years of exploration has been ongoing,
CNN reported.
"This cemetery is going to teach us a whole lot about the Philistines that we've never known before," said Daniel Master, professor of archaeology at Wheaton College. "We've learned about their houses, we've learned about what they ate and we learned about who they traded with, but now we're seeing the people themselves."
Archaeologists think the Philistines entered Ashkelon around 1150 B.C.,
The New York Times reported.
In the cemetery, the researchers found pottery and other artifacts along with the remains of more than 200 men, women, and children that give clues to how the Philistines, known as rivals of the Israelites that sent forth Goliath, lived.
"The victors write history," Master said. "We found these Philistines, and finally we get to hear their story told by them rather than by their enemies."
The burial site appears to show that the Philistines came from the Aegean Sea region,
Haaretz reported.
“Ninety-nine percent of the chapters and articles written about Philistine burial customs should be revised or ignored now that we have the first and only Philistine cemetery,” said Lawrence E. Stager, Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel, Emeritus, at Harvard University.
Twitter users expressed much interest in the discovery.
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