Philistine urban form at Tell es-Safi/Gath, Israel: a magnetometric perspective

Abstract

Some scholars view Philistine settlement in the southern Levant as the dominant, colonizing imposition of a new urbanism following a period of small cities and structural realignment during the Late Bronze Age. Others view Philistine urbanism as a gradual process that marks emergent, rather than imposed, cities. Here we explore Philistine urban planning through magnetometer and excavation data from Tell es-Safi/Gath. Results show that the northern lower city has dense, symmetrical buildings bordering main streets, an industrial area, potential extra-mural settlement, and many burned structures. Comparing these results to planning in other Philistine cities, we argue that these cities were moderately planned because they have many shared features, an emphasis on ordered spaces, and possibly discrete locations for industrial activities, but spatial divisions and street widths were not rigidly enforced, and the relative location of specialized activities varies. This finding is consistent with the emergent model of Philistine urbanism.