This is a story on the unprecedented discovery of a Philistine Cemetery in Ashkelon, Israel.
I think everyone knows about David and Goliath or Samson and Delilah or the capture of the Ark of the Covenant. Since this appears to be the first actual cemetery found of the famed Philistines, a lot of questions may be answered about the supposedly Indo-European people.
Genetic analysis may help confirm where the Philistines actually came from; Crete is a likely candidate. This would be the first time a people associated with the Sea Peoples would have been analyzed.
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| PHOTOGRAPH BY TSAFRIR ABAYOV via national geographic |
"An international team of researchers is currently conducting DNA research, isotopic analysis, and biological distance studies to determine the origin of the population of the Ashkelon cemetery, as well as their relation to other groups in the area. Since the majority of the burials date to at least two centuries after the initial arrival of the Philistines—which may have involved generations of cultural exchange and intermarriage—direct insights into their original origins may be complicated."
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| Palest Captives of Rameses III (Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, commons) |
See also [Alien Minorities in Cyprus and Crete]
and [here]
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