First-ever Philistine cemetery found, offers unique glimpse of Israelites' biblical enemy We've uncovered all aspects of their culture. Now we're finally going to see the people Final great discovery' from coastal city of Ashkelon, with graves of 210 individuals dating back 3,000 years, will shed light on deaths, and lives, of ancient foe Goliath's death is described in gruesome detail in the Bible, but how the Philistine champion would have been laid to rest has been a mystery. Scientists now say an extraordinary find may lay that giant enigma, much like the biblical villain, to rest. Archaeologists digging at the southern coastal city of Ashkelon announced Sunday the discovery of the first cemetery belonging to the ancient Israelites' dreaded and shadowy nemeses, the Philistines. Speaking to the press at Jerusalem's Rockefeller Museum, Daniel Master, one of the heads of the Leon Levy Expedition, said the cemetery, "the final great discovery" after 30 years of excavation of Ashkelon, could help shed light on the origins and customs of the Philistines. The discovery of a sizable cemetery, with over 210 individuals, at a site conclusively linked to the Philistines, was a "critical missing link" that allows scholars "to fill out the story of the Philistines," said Master, a professor of archaeology at Wheaton College. The cemetery, discovered just outside the ancient city walls and dated to between the 11th and 8th centuries BCE — a period associated with the rise of the Israelites — may contain thousands of individuals, providing an abundance of material to study, he said. With that broad a population, "we're going to be able to reconstruct what the Philistines as a group were like," Master said. Here is the whole story: http://www.timesofisrael.com/philistine-cemetery-find-offers-glimpse-of-deaths-and-lives-of-biblical-enemy/?utm_source=The+Times+of+Israel+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=85221a45be-2016_07_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adb46cec92-85221a45be-54534965 | 
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