(CNN) —
Archaeologists have unearthed the first Philistine cemetery ever discovered, shedding light on an ancient civilization that was home to one of the Bible’s most famous villains.
Historians have long hoped to learn more about the Philistines, and the burial ground offers insight into this ancient and historic population.
The Philistines are best known for Goliath, the giant who challenged a young David to battle near the Valley of Elah; the pair’s story is recounted in the biblical books of Samuel.
The 3,000-year-old site was found at Ashkelon, in southern Israel; its discovery marks the culmination of more than 30 years of exploration at the site.
“This cemetery is going to teach us a whole lot about the Philistines that we’ve never known before,” said Daniel Master, professor of archaeology at Wheaton College and co-director of the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon.
“We’ve learned about their houses, we’ve learned about what they ate and we learned about who they traded with, but now we’re seeing the people themselves.”
Archaeologists unearthed skeletons, individually buried with their own jugs, storage jars, and bowls. The small jugs are assumed to have been filled with perfumed oil.
Some skeletons were even found wearing bracelets and earrings, while others had weapons.
The cemetery also had evidence of cremations, pit internments, and multi-chambered tombs.
PHOTO:
Andy Vanecek/Facebook
Now playing
Girl finds ancient sword in lake
PHOTO:
Maritime Research & Recovery
300-year cannon found in FL
Now playing
300-year-old cannon found off Florida coast
Fire victim finds family heirloom amid debris
1,300 pounds of ancient Roman coins found
See shipwreck found after 75 years
PHOTO:
Viktor Radermacher/University of the Witwatersrand
This is an artist's reconstruction of Ledumahadi mafube foraging in the Early Jurassic of South Africa. In the foreground, Heterodontosaurus (another South African dinosaur). CREDIT: Viktor Radermacher/University of the Witwatersrand
Now playing
'Giant thunderclap' dinosaur discovered
World's oldest known animal identified
PHOTO:
Victor Leshyk/University of Utah
An artist's depiction of the turtle Arvinachelys goldeni as it would have appeared in life 76 milion years ago in southern Utah.
Now playing
New species of extinct pig-snouted turtle discovered
huge diamond discovered angola orig_00000000.jpg
Now playing
PHOTO:
Courtesy Casey L. Olson and Dr. Oren Gutfeld
Dead Sea scroll jar fragments found in the cave
Now playing
New Dead Sea Scrolls cave discovered
PHOTO:
Henry Groskinsky/The LIFE Images Collection/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
UNITED STATES - JANUARY 01: red ruby shoes worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" on display at Smithsonian Museum. (Photo by Henry Groskinsky/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)
Now playing
'Wizard of Oz' slippers found after 13 years
PHOTO:
American Pickers/The History Channel
Now playing
Aerosmith's original tour van found
Christopher Columbus letter returned _00000710.jpg
Now playing
Stolen Columbus letter returns to Vatican (2018)
PHOTO:
Getty Images
Caravaggio painting found France orig vstop dlewis_00000000.jpg
Now playing
Accidental find worth $136 million?
3,500-year-old tomb of ancient warrior uncovered
“Ninety-nine percent of the chapters and articles written about Philistine burial customs should be revised or ignored now that we have the first and only Philistine cemetery found just outside the city walls of Tel Ashkelon,” said Lawrence Stager, a professor of archaeology at Harvard University and a co-director of the expedition.
