Leiden University Student Repository

Slappendel, Corijanne (2010)

De Filistijnen. Hoe herkennen we de Filistijnen in de archeologische resten?

Bachelor thesis | Archeologie (BA)

The discovery of some reliefs in the Medinet Habu temple west of Thebes led to an ongoing debate of who the Sea Peoples and in particular the Philistines were and where they came from. Excavations in the supposed cities of the Philistine pentapolis in the Levantine coast area brought to light a distinctive material culture which was ascribed to the Philistines. Central to this thesis is the question how to recognize the Philistines in the archaeological remains, with a focus on the pottery. There are several aspects to this question. First that of describing the hallmarks in the archaeological material remains, second that of the identification of the ancient locations of the cities of the Philistines and third that of connecting the material culture to an identified people. In order to do so it was necessary to look for some theoretical backgrounds for the interpretation of identity. Identity is not static, as is mirrored in the recognized phases in the material culture, hallmarked...Show moreThe discovery of some reliefs in the Medinet Habu temple west of Thebes led to an ongoing debate of who the Sea Peoples and in particular the Philistines were and where they came from. Excavations in the supposed cities of the Philistine pentapolis in the Levantine coast area brought to light a distinctive material culture which was ascribed to the Philistines. Central to this thesis is the question how to recognize the Philistines in the archaeological remains, with a focus on the pottery. There are several aspects to this question. First that of describing the hallmarks in the archaeological material remains, second that of the identification of the ancient locations of the cities of the Philistines and third that of connecting the material culture to an identified people. In order to do so it was necessary to look for some theoretical backgrounds for the interpretation of identity. Identity is not static, as is mirrored in the recognized phases in the material culture, hallmarked respectively by the locally made Mycenean IIIC: 1b or shortly monochrome ware in the initial settlement phase (Iron Ia), the bichrome Philistine Ware (Iron I), Late Philistine Decorated Ware (Iron II) and the eventual process of either assimilation, acculturation or creolization by which the Philistine pottery eventually ceases to exist as a recognizable ware at the end of the Iron Age. Postprocessual archaeology and Braudel‟s model of three time scales seem to provide the theoretical background to describe these processes. New finds and research goals, like the well conserved destruction layer stratum 4 in Gath/Tell es-Safi and the archaeology of border communities as one of the leading research goals in the renewed excavation of Beth Shemesh, might shed new light on the identity of the Philistines and the ongoing debate about the Iron Age Chronology of the Levant.Show less

Author

Slappendel, Corijanne

Faculty

Faculty of Archaeology

Supervisors

Meijer, D.J.W.

ECTS Credits

10

Evaluation

Recommended

Language

nl