Biblical Philistines Came From Europe? Evidence from "Sensational" Dig Reveals They Probably Did

News Release : Feb 20, 2014
University of Gothenburg

"One of our conclusions after the excavation is that 'Jordanian culture' is clearly a Mediterranean culture even though the country does not border the Mediterranean Sea. There were well-organized societies in the area long before the Egyptian pyramids were built." -Professor Peter M. Fischer

(Jordan)—Swedish archaeologists led by Professor Peter M. Fischer of the University of Gothenburg have excavated a well-preserved building in the ancient settlement of Tell Abu al-Kharaz in Jordan dated from over 3200 BC

New finds support the theory that groups of the so-called Sea Peoples emigrated to Tell Abu al-Kharaz. They derive from Southern or Eastern Europe and settled in the Eastern Mediterranean region all the way to the Jordan Valley.

"We have evidence that culture from present Europe is represented in Tell Abu al-Kharaz. A group of the Sea Peoples of European descent, Philistines, settled down in the city," says Peter Fischer. "We have, for instance, found pottery resembling corresponding items from Greece and Cyprus in terms of form and decoration, and also cylindrical loom weights for textile production that could be found in central and south-east Europe around the same time."

Tell Abu al-Kharaz is located in the Jordan Valley close to the border to Israel and the West Bank. It most likely corresponds to the Biblical city of Jabesh Gilead. The Swedish Jordan Expedition has explored the city, which was founded 3200 BC and lasted for almost 5000 years. The first excavation took place in 1989 and the most recent in autumn 2013. All in all, 16 excavations have been completed.

Peter M. Fischer and his team of archaeologists and students have surveyed an urban settlement that flourished three times over the 5000 years: around 3100–2900 BC (Early Bronze Age), 1600–1300 BC (Late Bronze Age) and 1100–700 BC (Iron Age). These are the local periods; in Sweden, they occurred much later.

Remarkably well-preserved stone structures have been exposed during the excavations. The finds include defensive walls, buildings and thousands of complete objects produced locally or imported from south-east Europe.

"What surprises me the most is that we have found so many objects from far away. This shows that people were very mobile already thousands of years ago," says Fischer.

The scientists have made several sensational finds in the last three years, especially during the excavation of the building from 1100 BC where containers still filled with various seeds were found. There are also finds from Middle Egypt that were exported to Tell Abu al-Kharaz as early as 3100 BC.

The exploration of the 60-metre long building discovered in 2010 continued during the most recent excavation. It was originally built in two levels of which the bottom level is still standing with walls reaching 2.5 meters in height after more than 3000 years.

The archaeologists found evidence indicating that the Philistines who lived in the building together with local people around 1100 BC utilized a defense structure from 3000 BC in the form of an old city wall by constructing their building on top of it. In this way, they had both easy access to building material and a solid surface to build on.

"One of our conclusions after the excavation is that 'Jordanian culture' is clearly a Mediterranean culture even though the country does not border the Mediterranean Sea. There were well-organized societies in the area long before the Egyptian pyramids were built," says Fischer.