Ancient DNA reveals: Ancestors of the biblical Philistines migrated from Europe

In the laboratories of the Department of Archaeogenetics, we have examined for the first time the genetic material of people who lived about 3,600–2,800 years ago (during the Bronze to Iron Age transition) in Ashkelon, one of the most important cities of the Philistines. Analysis showed that a European gene component arrived in Ashkelon in the early Iron Age. This suggests that the Philistines' ancestors migrated from southern Europe across the Mediterranean and that the marked cultural change in Ashkelon and other cities in the region at this time was linked to the migration of people.