The Rampart that surrounded Ashkelon. This design is called a glacis and was covered with a very smooth, polished finish that made it impossible to climb by the enemy. A large wall would have stood at the top.
The Mediterranean Sea is in the background.
The city gate is just to the left of this photo. |
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A close up of the glacis that covered the base of the wall. This is 3,500 to 4,000 years old.
Joshua and David would have faced the Philistines of this city. |
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| Ashkelon was one of the five leading Philistine cities of the Old Testament. The others were: Gaza, Gath, Ekron, and Ashdod. |
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| The gate of the city. The original mud bricks are dark. The reconstruction is the lighter bricks. |
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| Toni stands by the Philistine gate of Ashkelon. Again, the dark mud bricks are from the days of the Philistines. The lighter colored are reconstruction to give us an idea of the original gate. |
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| A diagram of the gate in Ashkelon |
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| Bricks in the wall |
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| Original mud bricks inside the city gate. |
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Looking over the remains of the wall of Ashkelon that sits on top of the rampart base.
This wall would have been much higher.
The modern city of Ashkelon is in the back ground. |
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| You can see the mortar mixed with shells that the Philistines used to build their walls. |
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Galyn stands on the remains of Ashkelon with a couple of the potsherds he pick up among the ruins.
Ashkelon sits right on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. |
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| Potsherds Galyn found at Ashkelon |
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| The Mediterranean Sea as seen from Ashkelon |
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The modern city of Ashkelon.
No, there are no Philistines living here today. |
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Visit Dr. Carl Rasmussen's site for great photos and expert insight to Ashkelon of the Philistines below:
http://www.holylandphotos.org/browse.asp?s=1,2,6,353,354 |
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..Galyn's Israel Photos.
