Ashdod: Iron I Philistine Pottery

This distinctive type of painted pottery has been found at sites along the southern coast of Palestine from the 12th and 11th centuries BCE, which has led scholars to conclude that this is 'Philistine pottery,' as the Philistines were known to have lived in the area in this period. The decoration seems to be clearly derived from late Mycenaean painted pottery (i.e., painted pottery from Mycenae), which was produced in Greece in this period, and the shapes of the vessels seem to be a mixture of Mycenaean and Canaanite shapes. These similarities have led many scholars to conclude that the Philistines either originated in the Aegean or appropriated Mycenaean forms and styles through interaction with them.