Excavators at Tel Gezer have unearthed the skeletal remains of an adult and child. Researchers found the bodies inside a massive building (15x20 meters in size) that had been destroyed. The fiery destruction layer covered the bodies in a meter-thick layer of ash and burnt bricks. The human remains were too badly damaged in the fire for archaeologists to identify their nationality. The destruction has been attributed to Pharaoh Merneptah and confirms his claim on the Merneptah Stela (also known as the Israel Stele) that, "Canaan is plundered with every hardship. Ashkelon is taken, Gezer captured, [and] Yano‘am reduced to nothing. Israel is laid waste, his seed is no more." The layer of destruction indicates that Merneptah may have encountered more resistance from the Gezerites than expected.
Off-site Links:
- http://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.798934
- http://www.newsweek.com/israel-ancient-human-remains-discovered-royal-biblical-city-3200-years-after-631954