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“And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, thus he said: ‘O my son Avshalom, my son, my son Avshalom! would I had died for thee, O Avshalom, my son, my son!’” II Samuel 19:1 (The Israel Bible™)
By: Ilana Messika
The Israeli authorities reported an arson on the weekend of November 12, in the area of the “Tomb of Absalom” and the “Cave of Jehoshaphat,” situated in the Kidron Valley on the eastern side of the Old City separating the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives.
The Tomb of Absalom was damaged by fire. (Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
The fire is said to have caused serious archaeological damages.
The burial complexes in the Kidron Valley are attributed to the Jewish aristocracy of the late Second Temple period and are considered to represent architectural wonders. The national park around the walls of Jerusalem surrounds the Old City, which represents the historical heart of Jerusalem.
According to Assaf Avraham, director of the national park under the Israel Nature and Parks Authority: “the findings point to an arson which unfortunately caused severe damage to valuable heritage and archaeological jewels.
“The national park has many visitors but is also, to our regrets, often fertile ground for acts of vandalism carried out by breakers of the law.”
The Israeli Police and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority launched an intensive investigation into the case and preliminary finding seem to indicate arson of a deliberate and criminal nature. Both bodies are attempting to find the people responsible in order to bring them to justice.
“And the Philistines had war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines; and David waxed faint.” II Samuel 21:15 (The Israel Bible™)
A Philistinecemeteryhas been discovered for the first time in Israel, possibly shedding light on the mystery of the Philistines’ origins. According to biblical accounts, the Philistines were the arch-foes of ancient Israel.
“After decades of studying what the Philistines left behind, we have finally come face to face with the people themselves,” said Daniel Master, a professor of archaeology at Wheaton College. “With this discovery we are close to unlocking the secrets of their origins.”
Archaeologists and scholars have long searched for the Philistines’ origin. Artifacts found in the cemetery, which date back 2,700 to 3,000 years, may support the biblical account of the Philistines as migrants who arrived on the shores of ancient Israel from western lands in approximately the twelfth century BCE.
“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 found just outside the city walls of Tel Ashkelon, one of the five primary cities of the Philistines,” said Lawrence Stager, Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel at Harvard University.
The discovery was made by the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon more than thirty years after the excavation began. The digs that took place in Ashdod, Ekron, Ashkelon, and Gath have shown how culturally distinct the Philistines were from their Israelite contemporaries.
Philistine burial practices were not like those of the Bronze Age Canaanites, nor were they similar to burial practices in later Iron Age Judea. The Philistines buried their dead primarily in pits that were dug for each deceased individual: male or female, adult or child. Later, more bodies were sometimes placed in the same pit, which was dug again along roughly the same lines, but the new remains were interred with their own grave goods. The cemetery was also found to contain evidence of cremations, together with pit interments and multi-chambered tombs.
After quelling Bar Kochba’s revolt in the Roman province of Judaea in 135 CE, Emperor Hadrian renamed the area Syria Palaestina, for the Israelites’ ancient enemies.
Research on artifacts found at the site, including bones, ceramics, jewelry and weapons, may connect the Philistines to related populations elsewhere in the Mediterranean Basin. Bone samples taken from the site are also being tested in order to ascertain the Philistines’ origins.
Physical anthropology member documents discovered skeleton in Ashkelon excavation. (Photo: Melissa Aja/Leon Levy Expedition)
Most of the items found in the graves were storage jars, small bowls, and decorated juglets filled with what is believed to have been perfumed oil. While bracelets and earrings were found upon some of the remains and weapons with others, most of the individuals seem not have been buried with personal items.
The discovery was made in Ashkelon, a key port and maritime trade center from the Bronze Age to the Crusades, when it was destroyed and left uninhabited until modern times.
The excavation was organized and sponsored by the Leon Levy Foundation; the Semitic Museum at Harvard University; Boston College; Wheaton College; and Troy University, under license from the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
