A member of the physical anthropology team, Rachel Kalisher, measures a 10th-9th century BC skeleton

A member of the physical anthropology team, Rachel Kalisher, measures a 10th-9th century BC skeleton

The Cemetery of the Philistines at Ashkelon

From 2013 to 2016, the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon excavated an Iron Age IIA cemetery immediately adjacent to the ancient city. This research uncovered over 200 individuals buried in simple pits, built tombs, and cremation jars. The discovery represents a fundamental contribution to the history of the Philistines, as it demonstrates, for the first time, a typical burial practice for Philistine adults in the Iron Age. As such, it becomes a type-site against which other southern Levantine discoveries can be compared and provides new information about Iron Age death and burial in the eastern Mediterranean.

Below is a sample of news coverage from 2016. For all press inquiries, please contact Lydia Weitzman.

From our sponsoring institutions: 

Harvard Gazette

Baylor University

Troy University: Troy Messenger, Trojan News Center

Wesleyan University

Foreign Language coverage:

Al Jazeera TV (Arabic)

Haaretz ( Hebrew)

Ynet (Hebrew)

NRG (Hebrew)

BECTИ (Russian)

Vesti (Russian)

The Times of Israel (French)

La Provence (French)

Télé Matin, Sans Frontières (video, French)

Huffington Post (German)

Galileo (German)

KNA, German Catholic News Agency (German)

DPA, German News Agency (German)

National Geographic (Spanish)

AFP (Spanish)

EFE, Spanish News agency Text Video (Spanish)

R7 TV (Portuguese)