A Late Iron Age I/Early Iron Age II Old Canaanite Inscription from Tell eṣ-Ṣâfī/Gath, Israel: Palaeography, Dating, and Historical-Cultural Significance

Iron Age hydraulic plaster from Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel

“…Within the local stratigraphic sequence for this part of the area, the plaster belongs to Stratum A5. However, based on ceramic evidence from this stratum, as well as from similar assemblages retrieved from other parts of the excavation area, the plaster surfaces date to the late Iron Age I, that is, to the late 11th to early 10th century BCE (for detailed discussions see Maeir et al, 2008;Zukerman and Maeir, in press). …”

The Comparative Use of Ancient Near Eastern Texts in the Study of the Hebrew Bible

“…The Temple Mount Sifting Project, under the supervision of Gabriel Barkay and others, has found, among other things, a seal with a fragment of a name (‘yehu’), dated to the late seventh century bc. In 2005, an Old Canaanite incised inscription was located on a sherd in an Early Iron Age (mid‐11th to early 9th century bc ) context at Tell es‐Safi (biblical Gath; see Maier et al. 2008), the earliest known alphabetic inscription from an Iron Age Philistine site with a well‐defined context.…”

“…The Temple Mount Sifting Project, under the supervision of Gabriel Barkay and others, has found, among other things, a seal with a fragment of a name ('yehu'), dated to the late seventh century BC. In 2005, an Old Canaanite incised inscription was located on a sherd in an Early Iron Age (mid-11th to early 9th century BC) context at Tell es-Safi (biblical Gath; see Maier et al 2008), the earliest known alphabetic inscription from an Iron Age Philistine site with a well-defined context. The writers have tentatively interpreted the eight letters that have been found to be ('lwt ⁄ wlt{…}), which is not enough to determine the language of the text (Semitic or otherwise), although other suggestions have been given (Mycenaean Greek, or early Anatolian {i.e., Carian Lydian or Luwian} (see Cross & Stager 2006).…”

Lathyrus consumption in late Bronze and iron age sites in Israel: an Aegean affinity

“…The southern Coastal Plain and portions of the Judean piedmont (Judean Shephela) now in modern Israel, was settled around the 12th century BCE by Aegean immigrants identified with the biblical Philistines (Cross and Stager, 2006;Maeir et al, 2008).…”

“…There is considerable literature on unique aspects of the early Philistine culture, which enable us to identify it as mainly of foreign origin (see, e.g., Ben-Shlomo et al, 2008;Cross and Stager, 2006;Dothan, 1998;Maeir, 2008;Maeir et al, 2008;Stager, 1995), Philistine material culture is significantly different from that of indigenous peoples (i.e., Canaanites), and can be traced in it's long history of local development (Dothan, 1982;Killebrew, 2000;Mazar, 2000).…”