An archaeological dig has unearthed the remains of an enormous gate which may have marked the entrance of a biblical city said to be home to the legendary giant Goliath.
The remains of Gath of the Philistines were located in the Judean foothills between Jerusalem and Ashkelon. The huge biblical warrior was slain by David, the future king of Israel.
The discovery is part of a two-decade long expedition being led by Professor Aren Maeir of the Ackerman Family Bar-Ilan University Expedition.
Remains of the Iron Age city wall of Philistine Gath
The city gates are so large they point to evidence Gath as being the largest city in the land during the 10th-9th century BCE.
The city gate of Philistine Gath is referred to in the Hebrew Bible in the story of David's escape from King Saul to Achish, King of Gath.
“That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, ‘Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands?’ David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard.” – 1 Solomon 21:10-12
Fortifying walls, a temple and an iron production facility were also found at the site, which is in the Tel Zafit National Park.
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Maeir told Live Science: “These monumental fortifications stress how large and mighty this city was.”
An engraved illustration of David and Goliath from The Popular Pictorial Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, Published in 1862
The city was besieged and destroyed by Hazael King of Aram Damascus in 830 BCE.
According to a statement released by the university, further significant findings at the site include:
“Philistine Temples dating to the 11th through 9th century BCE, evidence of an earthquake in the 8th century BCE possibly connected to the earthquake mentioned in the Book of Amos I:1, the earliest decipherable Philistine inscription ever to be discovered, which contains two names similar to the name Goliath; a large assortment of objects of various types linked to Philistine culture; remains relating to the earliest siege system in the world, constructed by Hazael, King of Aram Damascus around 830 BCE, along with extensive evidence of the subsequent capture and destruction of the city by Hazael, as mentioned in Second Kings 12:18; evidence of the first Philistine settlement in Canaan (around 1200 BCE); different levels of the earlier Canaanite city of Gath; and remains of the Crusader castle "Blanche Garde" at which Richard the Lion-Hearted is known to have been.”
A view of the Iron Age fortifications of the lower city of Philistine Gath
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19th Century Shipwreck Discovered In Gulf Of Mexico(93 of100)
Scientists exploring marine life in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year uncovered a shipwreck site believed to be 200-years-old on May 17, 2012. (Photo: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program)Read more here. (credit:NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program)
Alaskan 12-Year-Old Discovers Drift Card(94 of100)
12-year-old Emmitt Andersen discovered a piece of orange plastic while beach-combing at Sealion Cove, Alaska, that had been adrift for 33 years. (Photo: James Poulson, Daily Sitka Sentinel/AP)Read more here. (credit:James Poulson, Daily Sitka Sentinel/AP)
World War II Kittyhawk P-40 Found In Egyptian Desert(95 of100)
A World War II airplane belonging to Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) was found in the Sahara Desert nearly 70 years after it crash landed in June 1942. (Photo: Jakub Perka/BNPS)Read more here. (credit:Jakub Perka/BNPS)
Hitler WWI Postcard Unearthed At History Roadshow(96 of100)
Unearthed as part of a European history project, a postcard sent during World War I by a wounded Adolf Hitler has brought attention to the earlier years of the German dictator's life -- and to his shortcomings as a speller. (Photo: Europeana 1914-1918)Read more here. (credit:Europeana 1914-1918)
Lost Colony's Location Revealed?(97 of100)
A new look at a 425-year-old map in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, yielded a tantalizing clue about the fate of the Lost Colony, the settlers who disappeared from North Carolina's Roanoke Island in the late 16th century. (Photo: AP Photo/British Museum)Read more here. (credit:AP)
Md. Civil War Museum Gives Severed Arm A Good Look(98 of100)
A Sharpsburg-area farmer is said to have found the human forearm while plowing a field two weeks after the 1862 battle.The arm was donated to The National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md., in January, 2012. The Museum is trying to determine its authenticity. (Photo: AP Photo/Courtesy National Museum of Civil War Medicine)Read more here. (credit:AP)
Hillary Clinton Wades Into Amelia Earhart Mystery(99 of100)
Enhanced analysis of a photograph taken just months after Earhart's Lockheed Electra plane vanished shows what experts think may be the landing gear of the aircraft protruding from the waters off the remote island of Nikumaroro, in what is now the Pacific nation of Kiribati. This provides a new clue into one of the 20th century's most enduring mysteries, uncovering the fate of American aviator Amelia Earhart, who went missing without a trace over the South Pacific 75 years ago. (Photo: AP/ Saul Loeb, Pool)Read more here. (credit:AP)
Titanic Menu: First Class Menu Of Final Lunch Auctioned(100 of100)
First-class passengers aboard the Titanic were offered Eggs Argenteuil, Chicken a la Maryland and fillets of brill on the last day aboard the ship, a menu revealed. (Photo: AP Photo/Tim Ireland/PA Wire) Read more here. (credit:AP)