A Literary and Archaeological Study of the Philistines

Abstract

This study is an analysis of the population and culture of Philistia in the Early Iron Age on the basis of the literary and archaeological evidence. Both the Egyptian records and the Old Testament texts imply that the arrival of the Philistines and other Sea Peoples in Palestine was not a sudden massive migration but a gradual amalgamation of foreign and indigenous elements. The archaeological evidence indicates that the Philistine culture was a hybrid culture in which the ‘Canaanite’ element remained predominant. An important part of this study is a determination of the percentage of Philistine Ware at the sites at which it occurs. Philistine Ware rarely exceeds 25% of the total ceramic assemblage from a site. It often is in the 5%-15% range. There is a strong continuity of ceramic types from the Late Bronze Age at sites which have Philistine Ware. In the overall ceramic assemblage of sites which have Philistine Ware, the Canaanite influence on the pottery is at least as strong as the Mycenaean influence. A study of Philistine burial practices, metalwork, architecture, ships, minor arts, religion, and language reveals a very strong ‘Canaanite,’ ‘Semitic,’ or Levantine element in all aspects of the Philistine culture. All of the evidence suggests that there was a strong carry-over from the Late Bronze Age in the population of Iron Age Philistia and that the influx of Sea Peoples into Palestine at the time of Ramses III was probably a settlement of small groups similar to the movement of the Northmen into various countries of Europe rather than a massive folk-migration.