Australian Archaeologist Uncovers Human Remains in Ancient Jars

Discovery of 2500 Years Old Human Remains – Plain of Jars

An Australian archaeologist has uncovered 2500 year old human remains in central Laos’ Plain of Jars which marks a dynamic step in solving the mysteries of that region. The discoveries were done during the excavation carried out in February 2016, led by a team of Australian and Lao researchers comprising of Dr Louise Shewan from the Monash Warwick Alliance and Centre for Archaeology and Ancient History, Dr Dougald O’Reilly from Australian National University and Dr. Thonglith Luangkhoth of the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.

The field work had been a five year project financed by the Australian Research Council, focused on revealing the mysteries of the 90-plus jar sites including who made the jars, what they were intended for and how the site came into being. The Plain of Jars sites situated in the central Lao province of Xieng Khouang, includes large carved stone jars of various sizes, some of which are as big as two metres in diameter and three metres high. Originally it had drawn the attention of science by French researcher Madeleine Colani in 1930s. The sites have remained unaffected owing to the huge quantity of unexploded bombs in the vicinity, the outcome of heavy bombing in 1970s during the Secret War in Laos.

Ancient Burial Ground

The latest excavations, the first main excavation in almost two decades revealed ancient burial ground in area known as `Site 1’ as well as various burial methods comprising of internment of whole bodies, burying of bundled bone and the bundled bone kept in ceramic vessels and then buried. The precise purpose of the jars that tends to date back to the Iron Age seems unknown, along with the civilization of the people who left the jars which tend to weight around 10 tonnes each.

They had been dragged from quarries up to 10 km away. Dougald O’Reilly, chief investigator of the project said that `one of the big questions is what were the jars used for and that is something they hope to shed a little bit of light’. The project is being built on the research carried by Colani who was of the belief that the jars were used for holding the dead and the discovery of the human remains, confirms this theory.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Listing

Dr O’Reilly stated that it’s fascinating the amount of effort that was put into the mortuary aspect of the culture at this time’. The remains was identified on using ground penetrating radar since there was nothing remaining in the jars, that had been worn away by the elements over 2000 years. Research in the region had been stalled for decades after the bombing by the Americans during the Vietnam War which left the area littered with unexploded weapons that continued to be a source of problems.

The search sites have been cleared and may lead it to being included to the UNESCO’s World Heritage listing. Dr O’Reilly told AAP that for everybody involved, it’s really exciting to have the opportunity of working at one of the Southeast Asia’s most important archaeological site and possibly one of the region’s least understood archaeological sites’.

The Downfall of Cahokia

Cahokia Largest & Most Influential Urban Settlement

Around 1,000 years ago, Cahokia in North America was the greatest city composed of 120 mounds spread out over 15 square kilometres of the enormous Mississippi adjacent floodplain. The city at one point had a population of 20,000 larger than that of London and other prominent European centres. Some have assessed of even more impressive 40,000 inhabitants within it ancient city limits.

Cahokia was the largest as well as the most influential urban settlement in the Mississippian culture that had advanced societies most of which is now the central and the south-eastern United States, beginning over 1000 years before the European. Presently Cahokia Mounds is said to be the largest and the most complex archaeological site, north of the great pre-Columbian cities in Mexico.

The Cahokia Mounds is considered to be a National Historic Landmark and is a designated site for state protection. Moreover it is also one of the only 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites within the United States. It is the largest prehistoric stone construction in the Americas north of Mexico and the site is open to the visitors which is administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and supported by the Cahokia Mounds Museum Society.

Its Discovery – Accidental

The settlement is said to have flourished till around 600 – 700 years ago when the population had already declined and reeled from the political struggles characteristic to all civilization had been apparently destroyed by some mysterious natural disaster.

 It now appears that a series of mega floods could be responsible. Its discovery had been accidental and researchers were rummaging the sediment from Horseshoe Lake in the vicinity of the city’s epicentre. The search was of fossilized remains, artifacts, and pollen to measure the extent of human activity at Cahokia.

However, they found evidence for various past flooding event, that had occurred frequently before Cahokia was located. The floods had taken a hiatus and then returned with a vengeance at the time the population had decline. Hence the city’s great riparian lifeline that ensured its existence, assured its downfall also.

Mysterious End of Ancient City – Unexplained

The mysterious end of the ancient city of Cahokia tends to remain unexplained though research now recommend that the catastrophic mega-floods could have devastated the crops and food stores, forcing the inhabitants to abandon the metropolis suddenly, some 800 years ago.

Cahokia had been one of the most sophisticated civilizations in North America and many have been speculating on its puzzling history. It was a prehistoric metropolis inhabited by people who were of advanced civilization and built impressive solar observatories and over 100 earthen mounds of different sizes, most of which seemed to be massive, square bottomed and flat topped pyramids.

The name of the city was Cahokia – City of the Sun and the inhabitants signified a Native American culture. The name Cahokia is associated to the name of a sub-tribe of the Illini Confederacy which is a tribal group composed of twelve or thirteen allied tribes, occupying areas which are presently part of four states, comprising of the region where the town of St Louis originated in 1764. In fact the original name of the city had never been recorded.

The Female Pioneers of Science

Female Pioneers of Science – Fiammetta Wilson/Grace Cook

During the Great War, as the bombs fell on London, two women had kept vigil of the night sky. Fiammetta Wilson and Grace Cook had noticed shooting stars which were like chunks of space rock that had lit up the sky while they plunge the Earth. They maintained a record of meteors which was then a man’s world. The pair, in 1916, was among the first four women who had been awarded fellowship of  The Royal Astronomical Society, which was a milestone in the recognition of women in science. Though their names seem to be forgotten, the first female comrades of the society have been remembered 100 years on.

DrMandy Bailey is an astronomer at the Open University as well as a member of the Royal Astronomical Society council and states that Fiammette Wilson and Grace Cook certified that scientific work on meteor observations seemed to continue while their male contemporaries had been fighting a war. She stated that between 1910 and 1920, Wilson noticed somewhere in the region of 10,000 meteors and precisely calculated the paths of around 650 of them, was no small achievement. Mrs Cook wrote regarding her friend that her dauntless spirit often enabled her to gain success where the others would have been unsuccessful.

Persistence Rewarded by Detection of Fireballs

She sometimes observed the heavens for five or six hours with only a few stars being visible in the midst of the clouds and her persistence was often adequately rewarded by the detection of fireballs. Mrs Wilson’s enthusiastic search of science at the time of the war led to accusations of spying.

 Ms Cook wrote after her death that `during the war astute special constables detected the flashlight she used for recording meteors and severely threatened her with arrest as a German agent. With zeppelins dropping bombs in the neighbourhood, Mrs Wilson calmly pursued her vigils on several occasions. Falling splinters from shrapnel once made thing highly dangerous but she managed to get good records’. It was Wilson and Cook who had opened the door to women from every walk of life to become astronomers. Towards the 19th century, the RAS granted honorary fellowship to Caroline Herschel and Mary Somerville, the famous scientists.

First Astronomer in England to observe Nova Aquilae

However, the organisation refused to permit women to be full members, debating that fellows in its Royal Charter were described only as `he’. Women like Grace Cook were considered as amateurs rather illegally since they could not join professional societies or put their names to technical papers. Ms Cook had been motivated to take up astronomy after attending a lecture by Joseph Hardcastle, the great grandson of Caroline’s Herschel’s brother.

He had lent her a telescope where she later on returned the favour by supporting to plot his discoveries on s star map. Mr Cook recalled in a letter a memorable night observing the sky in 1918 stating that it was one of the highlights of her observing nights that on June 8th 1918 when she went out to search for slow-moving bright meteors and almost at once spotted a strange star twinkling violently and changing colours rapidly. It was at 9.30 pm and she was the first astronomer in England to make the earliest observation of Nova Aquilae.

Exciting Travel Destinations to Visit in Turkey

Turkey is a wonderful country in itself. It stands on two continents and that makes it more special.The nation has eastern Europe on one of its side and western Asia on another. The cultural connection that this country has with the Persians, Romans and Greeks is simply amazing. The blend of Christian and Muslim faiths in the region is exciting to look. With so many amazing destinations, Turkey is a place to be visited to have an awesome experience.

Here are the exciting travel destinations to visit in Turkey.

1. Hagia Sophia

Built in 6th century by Roman Emperor Justinian I, Hagia Sophia was originally a basilica. The big structure is located in Istanbul and is a masterwork of Roman engineering. The big massive dome that covers the place is the largest enclosed space in the world. The church was made into a mosque in the 15th century when the Ottomans took over the city.

Makemytrip coupons can be used to book return flight tickets to Turkey with the benefit of discounts and added cashback. It remains as the top attraction in Turkey and is visited by millions of tourists every year.

2. Blue Mosque

The Blue Mosque is also located in Istanbul and was built between 1609 and 1616. It is one of the popular tourist attractions in Turkey and has the tomb of the founder inside the construction. With as many as 20,000 blue tiles lining the ceiling inside the building, the Blue Mosque gets its name aptly.

The stunning architecture of the place will leave you totally stunned. Uber coupons from CashKaro will help you get a cab ride around the city with discounted rates.

3. Mount Nemrut

The Mount Nemrut is a 2135 meter high mountain that is near the city of Adiyaman. The ancient King Antiochus I built a tomb that is flanked by huge statues of himself in the mountain. Over the years, the construction has deteriorated and place is a rubble with heads tossed all over the region.

The high place is a good spot to watch the spectacular sunrise. The real beauty is when the headless bodies have the orange look that add a sense of mystery to the onlookers.

4. Bodrum Castle

Located in southwest Turkey, Bodrum Castle was built by Crusaders during the 15th century. Originally built as the Castle of St. Peter, this castle is one of the most well protected monuments that date back to the medieval times. The place is a museum now with visitors to the place from around the world.

It is one of the important places to visit in Turkey and faces a marina that makes the sight more pleasant. Visit the castle to get a taste of the ancient civilization and way of living.

5. Library of Celsus

The Library of Celsusis a popular attraction and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was built around 125 AD and was destroyed in 401 AD when a mob laid waste to it. Once, there were close to 10,000 scrolls in the monumental tomb which acted as the governing place of Asia. In 1970 it was reconstructed to match the original structure and it is a magnificent view till date.

History of Hadrian's Wall

Hadrian’s Wall – Focus of Several Years of Archaeological Research

Hadrian’s Wall which is northern England is very popular to tourist and walkers and has been focus of several years of archaeological research. Some lesser known facts regarding how the Roman wall worked has been revealed by Patricia Southern. The Hadrian's wall which tends to run through northern England in many ways signified Roman Emperor Hadrian’s new ideology. Hadrian, who reigned from 117 to 138 AD, had abandoned continual conquest and expansion, favouring enclosing the Roman Empire within clearly marked frontiers.

The frontier, in some province comprised of a road or a river which had been guarded by forts and towers, while in others, including Africa, Britain and Germany, the frontier lines comprised of running barriers. More elaborate than the others was the British frontier and in its final version it seemed to be strongly held by auxiliary soldiers in 17 forts beside the line of the wall with outposts to the north together with forts in the vicinity also.

The frontier system seemed to be complex beginning from the north and working south, where there were outposts beyond the wall – three Hadrianic forts towards the west and later forts in the east beside what is presently the A68.

Original Wall Built of Turf

It is a major road running from Darlington to Edinburgh. The original version of the wall was built of turf, in the west from the river Irthing to the Firth. There could have been a possibility that the tribes in this area were hostile and the frontier had to be erected hurriedly. While on the other hand, there could havebeen a shortage of suitable stone as the locally available red sandstone seemed to be too friable or easily crumbled.

The western section of the wall had been replaced with better stone towards the second century. As recommended by the names of some of the third century units known as exploratores or scouts, the soldiers in the outposts could have undertaken regular patrols to perceive the natives.

 There was a wall further south that was protected by a ditch towards its northern side, which was designed to prevent close approach and was reinforced in some places by three rows of pits. These possibly contained stacked thorn branches that made penetration difficult and these features could have been recognised in the flatter areas though not along the wall.

Function of the Wall – Prevent Getting Near/Massing Together

Thereafter was the wall, which was initially around ten Roman feet thick and later reduced to eight feet which gave rise to a frontier of different dimensions. It is not known how high it has been but there could or could not have been a wall-walk along the top. No one knows if the Roman had patrolled along the wall or had confined their lookout posts to the forts, fortlets known as `milecastles’ and turrets positioned every third of a mile between them.

A wall-walk being there or not, there seems to be a lot of dead ground where observation would be obstructed. But this possibly did not matter since it is doubtful that the wall would be defended like a castle under siege. Rather the most possible function of the wall was to prevent anyone from getting near or massing together in the distance.

 Though it had been recommended, that manning the wall top would help to delay hostile natives, when the troops had assembled. The fact that we do not seem to know much regarding the wall is part of its fascination and on top of its historical interest, the wall tends to run through some of the most amazing scenery in northern England.

Blue Water Navy

Blue Water Navy – Maritime Force

Blue water navy is said to be a maritime force which has the potential of operating across the deep waters of open oceans. As per a dictionary definition, blue water ability tends to refer to an ocean going fleet capable of operating on high seas from its nation’s homeports. Some tend to operate all across the world. In the United Kingdom, a term is used often in describing such a kind of force, like the navy which possesses maritime expeditionary abilities.

Though the definitions of what really constitutes this kind of force vary, there seems to be a requirement for the ability to exercise sea control at extensive ranges. Defense Security Service of the United States tends to define the blue water navy as `a maritime force capable of sustained operation across the deep waters of open oceans. Blue water enables a country to project power away from the home country and frequently includes one or more aircraft carriers.

Smaller blue-water navies are capable of dispatching lesser vessels abroad for less period of time. In public address, the capability of blue water is recognized with the operation of iconic capital ships like battleships as well as aircraft carriers.

Military & Value of Overseas Basing – Dependent on Geographical Location

Generally and presently, blue water navies seemed to have established overseas bases to extend the reach of supply lines, provide repair facilities as well as to enhance the effective striking power of fleet further than the abilities offered by the nation’s homeports.

Usually the overseas bases are placed within the areas where probable threats and conflicts to the nation’s interest may occur. For instance, ever since World War II, the Royal Navy and later on the United States Navy continued to base forces in Bahrain for the operations in the Persian Gulf. The importance of the military and value of overseas basing was mainly dependent on geographical location.

A base positioned at choke points in narrow or enclosed seas could be of high value particularly if placed near or within striking distance of sea lines of communications of an enemy. But advanced operating bases could be equally valuable. Naval Station Pearl Harbour tends to act as a getaway for the US Navy for operating forward in the Pacific Ocean.

No Agreed definition – Blue-Water Navy

A blue water navy indicates force protection from sub-surface, surface and airborne threats as well as a sustainable logistic reach enabling a determined presence at range. A trademark of a true blue-water navy is the capability of conducting replenishment at sea – RAS. The commissioning of underway replenishment ships seems to be a strong indication of a navy’s blue water drives.

Though a blue-water navy projects sea control power in another nations’ shoreline, it tends to be susceptible to threats from less capable forces. The logistics and maintenance at range tend to have high costs and could be a saturation advantage over organized force via the use of land based air or surface-to-surface missile assets, diesel- electric submarines or even asymmetric tactics like Fast Inshore Attack Craft. The October 2000 USS Cole bombing in Aden is an example of this susceptibility.

These have been examples of navies which have been defined by different defense experts or academics as being blue-water navies. Some of them have been successful in using their blue-water abilities in exercising control on high seas and from there have proposed power in other nations’ shoreline waters. But it should be noted that there seems to be no agreed upon definition among authorities to what set up a blue-water navy.

Anastasia

Anastasia –Youngest Daughter of Tsar Nicholas II

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, who was the last sovereign of Imperial Russia and his wife, Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna. Anastasia was the younger sister of Grand Duchess Olga, Grand Duchess Tatiana and Grand Duchess Maria and the elder sister of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia.

Anastasia was born on June 18, 1901 in Petrodvorets, Russia, a town in the proximity of St. Petersburg which was earlier known as Peterhof. Anastasia’s mother was Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt also known as Alexandra Feodorovna and became known as Empress Alexandra after her marriage. Nicholas II, her father was the final tsar of Russia as well as part of the Romanov dynasty which ruled the country for a period of three centuries.

Her parents had married in late 1884 soon after the dead of her grandfather, Tsar Alexander III who died of kidney disease and her father had inherited the throne. During her younger days, Anastasia was educated by her mother who taught her spelling and prayers and as she grew older, she was provided with a Swiss tutor. Anastasia as well as her sister Maria were looked after by a governess while her older sisters were taken care of, by their mother’s lady-in-waiting.

Family Exiled to the Ural Mountains, Under House Arrest

The closely knit Rumanov family had lived in peace at Tsarskoe Palace till Nicholas II caused growing public hostility during the World War I. In March of 1917, while the soldiers launched a mutiny and started seizing royal property, Nicholas II settled to renounce the throne with a hope of preventing a Russian civil war. His family were then exiled to the Ural Mountains and were placed under house arrest. Unfortunately, a civil war could not be avoided and on July 17, 1918 while the Bolsheviks led by Vladmir Lenin fought to replace imperial rule with a new Communist regime, the Romanov family were awaken in the middle of the night and asked to get dressed.

 On the orders of the Supreme Soviet council of Russia, Yakov Yurovsky, the commandant of the Special House of Purpose, the Romanov family were led down a basement with the pretext that they were being protected from the imminent chaos of counter revolutionaries. They were met by a group of executioner who openly fired them.

Executed in an Extra-Judicial Killing

On July 17, 1918 Anastasia had been executed along with her family in an extra-judicial killing by the members of the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police and the Romanov legacy seemed to be ended in that cold basement forever.

Speculation arose as to whether she and her brother Alexei Nikolaevich could have survived. Rumours on the possibility of her escape spread after her death, powered by the fact that the place of her burial seemed to be unknown during the decades of Communist rule.

The mass grave which held the remains of the Tsar, his wife together with their three daughters near Yekaterinburg was discovered in 1991 and the bodies of Alexei Nikolaevich as well as the remaining daughter who was either of Anastasia or her older sister Maria were revealed in 2007.The possibility of her survival had been disproven and forensic analysis as well as DNA testing confirmed that the remains were those of the imperial family, which indicated that all four grand duchess had been killed in 1918.

Bridgewater Triangle

The Bridgwater Triangle – Site of Mystic Spectacles

The Bridgewater Triangle first described by researcher Loren Coleman in 1970s is a location of around 200 square miles which comprises of towns of Abington, Rehoboth and Freetown at the angles of the triangle and Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, North Middleboro, Segreganset, Dighton, North Dighton, Berkley, Myricks, Raynham, East Taunton and Taunton within the triangle.

Right from colonial times, it had been a site of apparent mystic spectacles which ranged from UFO and black helicopter. The findings comprise of severe multipoint facts of justification inclusive of police as well as local news team, to apparitions and orbs, balls of fire together with other haunted occurrences, various Bigfoot discoveries, giant snakes and thunderbirds and as the mutilation of cattle and other livestock.

From Bigfoot and UFO detections to ghosts and strange voices, the space from Abington south to Freetown, west to Seekonk as well as north back to Abington has various sites which is said to possess an energy different from any other area in the state.Towards the central area, one will find the mysterious and the largely untouched Hockomock Swamp, the largest swampland in New England and one which is rich in animal, plant and geologic diversity. The dense surrounding is said to be a difficult place to navigate which has led to believe that certain creatures could be lucking in the swamp unnoticed.

The Devil’s Swamp

The Wampanoag tribe have called this space Hockomock which means the place where the spirit dwelland the Colonial settlers called it `The Devil’s Swamp.Some of the weird findings reported comprised of flying creatures and ghosts. At 5,000 acres, the swamp is said to be one of the largest of its kind in the whole of north-eastern U.S.

Some areas seem to be very remote and difficult to penetrate and one is left to speculate how some of the strange things reported could continue to elude discovery through the years. Several residents from the local towns have reported strange feeling regarding the swamp and there is a strong local superstition that some evil supernatural or satanic activity seems to be going around there.

Moreover, the Triangle had also been known to house most of the Indian burial grounds. One of the most usual marvels observed and reported in the area is `spooklights’ or sometimes known as ghost lights which are typically seen in marshy or damp areas. The performance of this phenomenon is steady with mysterious lights apparently observed in the Bridgewater Triangle inclusive of those that appear along train track every January.

First Documented UFO Discovery – May 10, 1760

The first documented UFO discovery in the Bridgewater Triangle occurred on May 10, 1760 at 10 in the morning where a sphere of fire was noticed over New England. As per historical records, the UFO emitted light, adequately bright to cast a shadow in bright sunlight.

The sound made by the object was heard oddly at the middle of the course it took, rather than at the beginning. The light was seen in Bridgewater in Massachusetts and in Roxbury. On Halloween night in 1908, Bridgewater was once again visited, and the incident was well documented in the local newspaper. Two undertakers had been driving a carriage from West Bridgewater to the centre of Bridgewater when the incident took place soon after 3 am.

They described the object as an unusually strong lantern around two and a half feet in diameter lighting a large object like a balloon bag and watched it for around forty minutes. Though a newspaper reported that all balloons which make ascension, in this State were accounted for, some who had not seen the object believed that UFO had been a hot-air balloon.

 To counter this, one of the undertakers had mentioned that a hot-air balloon could not move in a circle or perpendicular as this did. He mentioned that the object moved up and down at the will of an individual.

Five-Dimensional Black Hole Could 'Break' General Relativity

Researchers Successful in Simulating Black Hole

Researchers from the University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London have been successful in simulating a black hole in the shape of a very thin ring giving rise to a series of `bulges’ that are linked by strings which tend to get thin over a period of time.

The strings ultimately become so thin that they pinch off into a sequence of tiny black hole identical to how a thin stream of water from a tap tends to break into droplets. In 2002, ring-shaped black holes were discovered by theoretical physicists. However, this is the first time that its dynamics has been simulated successfully on utilising supercomputers.

If this kind of black hole tends to form, it would lead in the appearance of a `naked singularity’ causing the equation behind general relativity to break down. The result of the same had been published in the journal – Physical Review Letters. General relativity supports the present understanding of gravity which is everything from the estimation of the age of the stars in the universe to the GPS signals we tend to depend on, while navigating and is based on Einstein’s equation.

Singularity – A Point where Gravity is Intense

The theory, partly informs us, that matter distortions its surrounding space-time and what is known as gravity is the outcome of that distortion. Since it was published in the 100 years, general relativity had passed through every test which had been thrown at it though one of its restrictions is the presence of singularities. Singularity is a point wherein gravity seems to be so intense that space, time as well as the laws of physics tends to break down. General relativity forecasts that singularities occur towards the centre of black holes and tends to be surrounded by an event horizon which is the point of no return where gravitational pull becomes very strong.

 Escape seems impossible which means that it cannot be observed from outside. Markus Kunesch, study co-author and a PhD student at Cambridge’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics – DAMTP said that as long as singularities remains hidden behind an event horizon, they do not tend to cause trouble and general relativity holds the cosmic censorship conjecture and this is always the case.

As long as the cosmic censorship conjecture tends to be valid, they can safely forecast the future outside the black holes. Since ultimately what is being done in physics is to forecast the future given knowledge regarding the state of the universe now’.

Physicist Researching General Relativity in Higher Dimension

We tend to think of the universe prevailing in three dimensions and the fourth dimension of time, which when combined is referred as space-time. However, in branches of theoretical physics like string theory, the universe could be of as many as 11 dimensions.

Extra dimensions can be big and expansive or it could be curled up, tiny as well as hard to notice and because human can directly only see three dimensions, the presence of extra dimensions can only be concluded through high energy experiments like those directed at Large Hadron Collider.

The theory of Einstein does not state how many dimensions seem to be in the universe. Hence theoretical physicists have been researching general relativity in higher dimension to check if cosmic censorship still tends to hold. The finding of ring-shaped holes in five dimensions has directed the researchers to hypothesise that they can break up and lead to a naked singularity.

The Legendary City Of Gath

Legendary City of Gath – Home of the Biblical Giant Goliath

The legendary city of Gath has been discovered by archaeologist after a 20 year excavation effort by the Ackerman Family Bar-Ilan University Expedition led by Professor Aren Maeir in an area which is now divided between the warring states of Palestine and Israel.

One of the five Philistine city-states, Gath is said to be the home of the Biblical giant Goliath who had abandoned his seat to David, the future kind of Israel and first among the great rulers. Separate expeditions had been carried out from 1899 but researchers had only recently been capable of confirming the existence of the Biblical city. Researchers had excavated a mammoth gate, which was the largest that was discovered in Israel that was believed to be the same gate referred in the Book of Samuel. It seemed to be a fitting entrance for one the regions’ main cities during the 9th or 10th century BC.

The Israelite style Philistine pottery had also been recovered indicating that at least a partial meshing of cultures between the two enemies prevailed. Gath had been an Iron Age city of industry. Moreover, archaeologist had also discovered a noticeable foundry inside its boundaries portraying Gath as a bustling urban centre which supplied varied metalwork to the nearby communities.

Goliath – Massive Warrior Killed with Slingshot by David

In the Old Testament, it has been described that Gath was the home of Goliath the massive warrior who had been killed with a slingshot that had been fired by David prior to him being the King of Israel. Professor Louise Hitchcock of Melbourne University Associate had stated the archaeologists had known about the site for over two decades.

She told news.com.au that they had been digging there every July since 2008 though the project had been going on since 1997. Ms Hitchcock though not personally involved in the discovery of the gate said that she had made various other discoveries which go along with the theory comprising of inscription of the name Goliath, two Philistine temples, altars as well as rituals objects.

She said that the discovery of the gate in the lower area of the city seems to be different to the area where she had been digging. She had been excavating the houses of the people who had probably built the gate.

Discovery of Some Pottery Connected with Philistine Culture

She further adds that it was in these houses that she had made the discovery of some pottery that was usually connected with Philistine culture. She commented that the domestic remnants of distinctive Philistine style pottery also portrayed some elements of Israelite technique and the same suggested that there was some multiculturalism between the warring factions.

 However, though the excavation correlated with the presence of Gath, Ms Hitcock did not believe that they are explicit proof of God. With regards to Goliath, Ms Hithcock stated that there was no way of determining if he was a monstrous giant and don’t know how tall he was, though several people during that time were very short. Hence he could have been around 6 ft. tall for the people to consider him as a giant.