AnirudhaThe Find Of A Century
The first expedition to unearth the mystery behind the Philistines was done by Leon Levy in 1985. Though he couldn’t find anything interesting back because it was very difficult to work in the Ashkelon. But after 30 years, the team of researchers and archeologists from Harvard University, Boston College, Wheaton College in Illinois, and Troy University in Alabama have discovered something really amazing. The team was in the right place at the right time. A single piece of evidence scripted the entire chapter.
Keep It Secret
For three long years, the archeologists kept the discovery a secret from the outer world because the discovery had the capability to change every belief people had about the Philistines. The archeologists didn’t want to attract the extreme Orthodox Jewish protesters. “We had to bite our tongues for a long time,” said Daniel M. Master, professor of archaeology at Wheaton College and one of the heads leading the expedition. Why did they find which had to be kept as a secret for three years?
Past Discovery
What made these archeologists hide the discover for three long years? What was that they found? This discovery is believed to have the potential to change the course of history. Note that this discovery was made after 30 years of long excavation. In the past, there have been several protests because of the extreme Orthodox Jewish people beliefs that the archeologists were hurting the sentiments of the people. And this discovery was one of the most important finds of the century which they knew have to keep it a secret before it came out in the open.
Significance Of The Discovery
You must be thinking why does this discovery matters so much to these archeologists? Professor Daniel Master explains the reason in his own words saying, “We have the story of the Philistines as told by their enemies. What we want to do is tell the story of the Philistines from beginning to end from their point of view”. As we have already said the discovery changed everything we knew or thought about the Philistine people. Today, we have the truth in front of us. You’ll be shocked to see what did they found.
The Question
It is believed that the Philistines disappeared from the face of the Earth in the 6th century B.C after the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II who ruled from 605 B.C to 562 B.C conquered the occupied region which belonged to the Philistines which also includes Ashkelon. But there’s a problem with all these claims.
The Problem
Every text the Bible or the Book of Joshua, all of them have shown the Philistines in a bad light. “The texts are few in number and were written by non-Philistines, who often had a negative view of them,” said Raz Kletter, professor in the University of Helsinki. Raz Kletter has excavated the ancient city of “Yavne”, a place which according to the texts was ruled by the Philistines. Can you sense the importance of the discovery? The discovery not only changed the views about the Philistines but actually tell us what is the real truth.