Plant-related Philistine ritual practices at biblical Gath

Abstract

The Philistine culture (Iron Age, ca. 1200-604 BCE) profoundly impacted the southern Levant's cultural history, agronomy, and dietary customs. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the Philistines' cultic praxis and deities, is limited and uncertain. Here, we combine archaeological data with a meticulous study of plant use at two successive temples at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfī/Gath. We provide a list of the plants used, their time of harvest, mode of offering, and possible symbolism. Analysis of the temples' macrobotanical (seed and fruits) plant assemblage reveals the offerings; that the inception date for rites was early spring; and sheds light on the date of the final utilization of the temples (late summer/early fall). Besides food crops, we note the earliest cultic use of chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus), crown daisy (Glebionis coronaria), and scabious (Lomelosia argentea). These wide-spread Mediterranean plants were known so far only in later cults-of early Greek deities, such as Hera, Artemis, Demeter, and Asclepios. We discuss the data as reflecting that the Philistine religion relied on the magic and power of nature, such as fresh water and seasonality, which influence human life, health, and activity. In sum, our results offer novel insights into the culture of the Philistines.

Figure 1

(a) Greater Near Eastern region, showing main archaeological sites mentioned in the text. (b) Southern Levant, showing location of the Tell eṣ-Ṣâfī/Gath (as Gath) and other sites mentioned in text. ArcGIS Desktop 10.6 https://www.esri.com/.

Figure 2

View of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfī/Gath showing the location of the study area (Area D) and votive offerings found in the temples. Photos 2a, 2c–f by A. Maeir. (a) View of northern side of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfī/Gath, showing Area D temples (yellow rectangle) and the valley to the north of the site. (b) Topographical map of Tell eṣ-Ṣâfī/Gath, showing location of excavation areas, the HaEla riverbed course and the valley to the north of the site. The yellow rectangle marks the temples’ location. ArcGIS Desktop 10.6 https://www.esri.com/. (c) Aerial photo of Area D with temples and surrounding buildings. Yellow marks denote the location of offerings (d) and the altar (f). (d) Cultic assemblage of miniature vessels and an endolium shell (Tonna galea) found in temple D4. (e) Decorated chalices found in temple D3. (f) Altar found in temple D3.

Figure 3

Top plan of Area D with delineation of the two temples: Stratum D4 and Stratum D3. Red color denotes loci sampled for archaeobotany. Letters mark type of space (Temple, Room, Courtyard, Building) and their orientation (N, E, S, W). Ex: CN – northern courtyard; TC – temple central room; RW – western room; BE – eastern building).

Figure 4

Plants spread inside and around the temples’ precincts. (a) Non-metric nMDS ordination test by the Bray–Curtis similarity index between the temples’ spaces by species composition. Each location is marked in the following order: Strata (D3 or D4), orientation in relation to the temple center (N, W, S, E), and type of space (altar; R—room, C—courtyard, B—building). (b) Frequencies of Plant Functional Groups within the Temple D3 (log-transformed for visibility). Colored bars represent observed frequencies of plant functional groups; Red bar – the expected frequency. (c) Seasonality of Plants’ Harvest. Plants are numbered and arranged according to their belonging to the functional group (crops, weed/wilds). (d) Frequencies of plant functional groups in the temples’ D3 and D4 areas. (e) Spatial spread of plant functional groups in the D3 and D4 Temple areas.

Figure 4

Plants spread inside and around the temples’ precincts. (a) Non-metric nMDS ordination test by the Bray–Curtis similarity index between the temples’ spaces by species composition. Each location is marked in the following order: Strata (D3 or D4), orientation in relation to the temple center (N, W, S, E), and type of space (altar; R—room, C—courtyard, B—building). (b) Frequencies of Plant Functional Groups within the Temple D3 (log-transformed for visibility). Colored bars represent observed frequencies of plant functional groups; Red bar – the expected frequency. (c) Seasonality of Plants’ Harvest. Plants are numbered and arranged according to their belonging to the functional group (crops, weed/wilds). (d) Frequencies of plant functional groups in the temples’ D3 and D4 areas. (e) Spatial spread of plant functional groups in the D3 and D4 Temple areas.

Figure 5

Plants of the Philistine temples at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfī/Gath. All Photos by S. Frumin. Seed photographs made using stereoscopic light microscope Olympus SZ×10 DP73 and digital scanning using cellSens Dimension 1.9 program, Adobe Photoshop 2024 was used for background editing. (a–c) Vitex agnus-castus, chaste tree. (a) Chaste tree fruits found in D3 (L 149813). (b) Chaste tree, flowering modern inflorescence. (c) Chaste tree, modern fruiting branch. (d) Buglossoides incrassata, gromwell, nutlet (L D15BW08). (e) Lomelosia argentea, silvery scabious, persistent outermost whorl of inflorescence (calyx) – the archaeological find from L 16D93D03 and schematic drawing of the complete calyx. (f) Eragrostis minor, little lovegrass, grains (L 149515). (g) Triticum parvicoccum, free-threshing wheat grain (L 149515). (h) Lolium temulentum, poison darnel, grain (L 16D93D03). (i) Glebionis coronaria, crown daisy, flowering head (inflorescence, modern). (j) G. coronaria fruits (achenes) found in the temples (L 16D93D03). (k) Vicia ervilia, bitter vetch, seed (L 16D93D03).

Figure 6

Philistines plant-related iconography. (a) Ceramic cultic jar, Tell Qasile, # 1302, Stratum X, Loci 142; 190: a frieze of plants painted on the upper part of the jar, flower-shape of the vessel, photo of the vessel, its drawing. (b) Hera (Ephesus-Vienna type). Early first century CE copy of a Greek original (beginning of the fourth century BCE). Naples National Archaeological Museum, #6027. Photo by S. Frumin. (c) Ceramic Cult stand (CAT37), Yavneh. Muza—Eretz Israel Museum, IAA no. 2006–998. Photo by A. Maeir.