www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
World / Middle East

Israel find may help solve mystery

By Associated Press in Ashkelon, Israel (China Daily) Updated: 2016-07-11 09:06

Israel find may help solve mystery

Archaeologists excavate an ancient Philistine cemetery near Ashkelon, Israel. The discovery in Israelmay help solve a biblicalmystery of where the ancient Philistines came from. Tsafrir Abayov / Ap

DNA tests may show origins of the biblical Philistines

An archaeological discovery announced on Sunday in Israel may help solve an enduring biblical mystery: where did the ancient Philistines come from?

The Philistines left behind plenty of pottery. But part of the mystery surrounding the ancient people was that very little biological trace of them had been found - until 2013.

That's when archaeologists excavating the site of the biblical city of Ashkelon found what they say is the first Philistine cemetery ever discovered. They say they have uncovered the remains of more than 200 people there.

The discovery was finally unveiled Sunday at the close of a 30-year excavation by the Leon Levy Expedition, a team of archaeologists from Harvard University, Boston College, Wheaton College in Illinois and Troy University in Alabama.

The team is now performing DNA, radiocarbon and other tests on bone samples uncovered at the cemetery, dating back to between the 11th and the 8th centuries B.C., to help resolve a debate about the Philistines' geographical origins. The archaeologists have not announced any conclusions, saying they are taking advantage of recent advances in DNA testing to get the most accurate results.

"After decades of studying what Philistines left behind, we have finally come face to face with the people themselves," said Daniel M. Master, professor of archaeology at Wheaton College and one of the leaders of the excavation. "With this discovery we are close to unlocking the secrets of their origins."

A few human remains at Philistine sites had been discovered in past years, but they provided too small a sample to draw conclusions, he added.

The archaeologists kept the discovery a secret for three years until the end of their dig because of a unique hazard of archaeology in modern-day Israel: they did not want to attract ultraorthodox Jewish protesters, Master said.

"We had to bite our tongues for a long time," Master said.

In the past, the ultraorthodox have staged demonstrations at excavations where human remains are found, arguing that the remains could be Jewish and that disturbing them would violate a religious prohibition.

The Leon Levy Expedition itself faced ultraorthodox demonstrators in the 1990s, during the excavation of a Canaanite burial site.

In the Bible, the Philistines are depicted as the ancient Israelites' archenemy, a foreign people who migrated from lands to the west and settled in five main cities in Philistia, in today's southern Israel and the Gaza Strip.

The most famous Philistine was Goliath, the fearsome warrior who was slain by a young King David. The Philistines' legacy lives on in the name Palestine, the term the Romans gave to the region in the 2nd century, and which is used today by Palestinians.

Archaeologists and biblical scholars have long believed the Philistines came from the Aegean region, based on pottery found in excavations of Philistine sites.

But scholars have debated where exactly in the Aegean region the Philistines came from: mainland Greece, the islands of Crete or Cyprus, or even Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey.

The bones might hold the answers, said archaeologist Yossi Garfinkel, an Israeli expert on the period who did not participate in the dig. He called the cemetery find "a very significant discovery indeed."

The excavation of the cemetery has also shed light on Philistine burial practices.

Trudeau visits Sina Weibo
May gets little gasp as EU extends deadline for sufficient progress in Brexit talks
Ethiopian FM urges strengthened Ethiopia-China ties
Yemen's ex-president Saleh, relatives killed by Houthis
Most Popular
Hot Topics

...
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲第一se情网站 | 一色屋成人免费精品网站 | 日本三级s级在线播放 | 日本三级香港三级人妇r | 国产精品国产欧美综合一区 | 免费一级α片在线观看 | 毛片免费视频观看 | 中文字幕一区二区三区久久网站 | 欧美成人怡红院在线观看 | 日本aaaa片毛片免费观看 | 国产亚洲一区二区在线观看 | 视频一区精品 | 亚洲欧美激情视频 | 国产欧美日韩综合精品无毒 | 国产男女猛烈无遮档免费视频网站 | 中文字幕无线码中文字幕网站 | 欧美日韩亚洲精品一区 | 岛国搬运工最新网地址 | 99av在线 | 欧美亚洲视频 | 成年午夜 | 毛片免费视频 | 成人免费看片 | 一色屋色费精品视频在线看 | 久草中文在线观看 | 成年人免费视频网站 | 男人的天堂黄色 | 国产在线一区二区三区在线 | 久草视频免费 | 99国产精品视频久久久久 | 色综合91久久精品中文字幕 | 操美女大逼视频 | 国产伦精品一区二区三区精品 | 国产精品99久久久 | 午夜私人影院免费体验区 | 九九视频精品在线 | 九九久久九九久久 | 亚洲男人精品 | 久久久久久久国产精品影院 | 波多野结衣被强在线视频 | 欧美成人ass |