Industry and Cult in Philistia

Philistia during the Iron Age reflects a distinct material culture, as well as a special historical background related to biblical and other texts. The Philistines occupying this region may have been immigrants from the west (Cyprus and the Aegean), bringing elements of their motherland culture to the southern Levant. In the archeological records, cult-related materials can be linked with public-temple cults and religion or domestic cults. Another possibility could be cultic activity related to industrial production and technology. This paper will discuss links between industry and cults in several Philistine sites, in particular at Tel Miqne-Ekron and Tel Ashdod. These links are mostly associated with evidence from the Iron Age II (ca. 1000–600 BCE). The olive oil production center and the Temple Complex at Ekron, as well as several installations related to pottery production at Ashdod, will be discussed. While the temple cult in Iron Age Philistia has shown mainly Canaanite cultural elements so far, with very few originating in the Aegean, the domestic cult artifacts from the early Iron Age (ca. 1200–1000 BCE) show more Aegean-related elements. The industry-related cultic activity may possibly show a different pattern, or possibly a relationship to the Neo-Assyrian domination in the region during the late Iron Age. The socio-economic and administrative significance of these links will be discussed.