All language subtitles for Lost.Treasures.of.the.Bible.Secrets.of.Faith.S01E04.720p.WEB.H264-SHIIIT_track4_[eng]

[Narrator] In Israel,
a pioneering team

of investigators is
unearthing the remains

of an ancient fortress.

Oded, come and see.

We just found the corner
of the tower.

[Oded] Very nice.
Very nice, so this is...

[Narrator] Inside, they uncover
treasures hidden

for more than 3,000 years.

Where?

Scarab... over there.

[speaking foreign language]

[Oded] Wow! Very nice.

Amazing.

[Narrator] They reveal
disturbing evidence

of death and destruction
across the entire ancient city.

All the site was just destroyed.

Many people were killed.

[Narrator] Could these
groundbreaking finds

help reveal the truth
behind one of the Bible's

greatest stories, the legend
of David and Goliath?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The stories in the Bible are
famous across the world.

They tell of great battles
between good and evil,

earth-shaking catastrophes...

...and epic heroes.

Now, new archaeological
discoveries

buried in the Middle East
for thousands of years,

shed light on real events
that inspired these legends.

The story of David and Goliath

is one of the most celebrated
legends in the Bible.

David, a young
Israelite shepherd,

battles a giant warrior
named Goliath.

Armed with just a sling, he
kills him with a single stone.

[Goliath groans]

A victory that would pave
the way for David to become

one of the most revered kings.

[Archaeologist]
David and Goliath is probably

the most famous biblical story
known today.

People in China,
people in Japan,

people has nothing to do with
Judaism or in Christianity

know about David and Goliath.

[Narrator] In the story
of David and Goliath,

the Bible mentions specific
locations and details.

But how historically
accurate are they?

Now, experts are on a mission
to investigate the truth

behind the legend.

They use pioneering technology

and investigate
ancient weaponry

to unlock the secrets
of this epic showdown.

♪ ♪

In the heart
of modern-day Israel,

25 miles southwest
of Jerusalem,

lies the ancient city
of Lachish.

Lachish is not far
from the Valley of Elah

where the Bible says the battle

between David and Goliath
took place.

Leading archaeologist
Yosef Garfinkel

has been digging here
for over 15 years.

[Yosef Garfinkel] Lachish is
one of the most important site

in the ancient Near East.

It has connections
with Mesopotamia, with Egypt,

the Aegean, Cyprus,
and the biblical tradition,

altogether make it
a very unique space.

[Narrator] Lachish was settled
around 3000 BCE,

roughly 500 years before
the Great Pyramids of Giza

were built in Egypt.

At this time, the land
was known as Canaan.

Later, around the time David
is said to have ruled,

the site would grow into one
of the most important cities

in ancient Israel.

♪ ♪

[beeping]

- A coin?
- Yeah.

[Archaeologist 1] Wow!

[Archaeologist 2] I think
it will be early Hellenistic,

which means around
late 4th century,

after Alexander the Great.

We already have several coins
from this period in this area.

[Archaeologist 1] The poor guy
lost a whole bunch of coins,

not just one.

[Narrator] Although the Bible is
a book of faith,

it is seen by many as a record
of the early history

of the Jewish people.

It suggests that Lachish was
conquered by the Israelites

hundreds of years before
the time of David and Goliath.

Yosef is interested in finding
out more about this city

and its biblical connections.

[Yosef] It's excitement.

We are clarifying
biblical questions

historical questions;
this is unbelievable place.

[Narrator] Yosef's new dig here
is starting to uncover

puzzling signs of
destruction and debris.

[Yosef] Did this belong
to the collapse

or this belong to the wall?

[Narrator] As well as
an intriguing structure.

[Yosef] Here we have
the first wall,

so it's very exciting
to have the first wall.

You can see the bricks,
one, two, three, four.

But one wall is not enough, so
we need to find three more walls

and to have a room,
then we need four, five walls

to have a building.

[Narrator] Yosef thinks
this site may once have been

an elite quarter of the city,

and that these might be the
ruins of a palace or temple.

If he is to link the structure
to the biblical story,

he must first uncover
when it was built.

[Archaeologist 1] Wow!

[Archaeologist 2] Is it pottery?

[Archaeologist 1]
Yeah, it's a big piece of bowl.

[Archaeologist 2] Oh!

[Archaeologist 1] Amazing.

[Narrator] This bowl could be
a critical clue.

Archaeologists use the style
and decoration of pottery

to distinguish between
different centuries.

[Yosef] Let's have a look
what it is exactly.

So, this is beautiful,
maybe we find more part of it.

[Narrator] The design of this
bowl dates the structure

to the 12th century BCE.

This is a time archaeologists
call the Late Bronze Age.

Yosef investigates
the building's fate.

[Yosef] This is the wall,
but if you look here,

you see a black line
running all the way.

Look at the ashes here
from the side of the wall.

We have here part
of the destruction debris

relating to the wall.

[Narrator] Archaeologists
suspect a fire tore through

the building sometime
in the 12th century BCE.

Look at the ashes here.

Something from wood
was burnt here.

It can be furniture
or maybe beams of the roof

that burnt and collapsed
and accumulated here.

I'm sure that for the people
who lived here,

it was a catastrophe.

[Narrator] The fire also left
behind a strange clue:

the mud walls were
turned to ceramic.

This phenomenon only occurs
at extreme temperatures

of around 1,100 degrees
Fahrenheit.

It hints at an intense
and sustained blaze,

something Yosef finds
elsewhere in the city.

[Yosef] Destruction cannot
happen by accident,

maybe one house can be burnt,
but if the whole city is burnt,

this is clear evidence
for intentional destruction.

Now it's a big
historical question,

who destroyed Lachish?

[Narrator] A clue might lie
to the south of Israel

near Luxor, Egypt.

On the west bank of the Nile

lies the impressive temple
complex of Medinet Habu.

Built by King Ramses III
in the 12th century,

it is adorned
with statues to gods,

colossal pillars,

and elaborate inscriptions.

It is in these inscriptions
that Ramses III

records his time
as ruler of Egypt.

Archaeologist Arto Belekdanian

investigates one particular
set of inscriptions

in the hope it could shed light
on Lachish's attackers.

[Arto Belekdanian]
What we're seeing here

is an extremely important battle
in ancient Egyptian history,

fought between Ramses III,

depicted in heroic size
over there,

bow drawn, and against
the Sea Peoples.

[Narrator] The Sea Peoples
appear to be a coalition

of different groups
from the north

who first assemble
around the early 1100s BCE.

Initially,
the Sea Peoples conducted

isolated hit-and-run raids
across the Mediterranean

with occasional forays
into Canaan.

Around the year 1180 BCE,

they had assembled
a mighty army

and moved south
to attack Egypt.

♪ ♪

[Arto] King Ramses III
talks about the events

of the eighth year of his reign
when the Sea Peoples attacked.

One of the Sea Peoples mentioned
in that text behind me

right there are the Peleset.

[Narrator] Studies show that the
Peleset and other Sea Peoples

may have originated from
the Greek Aegean region.

But how might the Peleset
be linked

to the destruction of Lachish?

Arto decodes the next part
of the inscription.

[Arto] Now these peoples,
they attacked Egypt,

and as they're entering
the marshy landscape

of the north of Egypt,

Ramses III sprung his trap,

and he utterly defeats them all.

[Narrator]
After defeating the Peleset,

Ramses forcibly resettled
them in Canaan,

possibly to fight as
mercenaries in his army there.

Shortly after, the Egyptians
lost control of the region,

leaving the Peleset to become
known as the Philistines.

♪ ♪

The Philistines rose to rule an
area of the Mediterranean coast

known as Philistia.

They are central to the story
of David and Goliath.

♪ ♪

Biblical historians believe
that the Philistines

may have confronted
the Israelite army

around the 10th century BCE.

The Bible says a 10-foot-tall
Philistine warrior

called Goliath
taunts the Israelites,

challenging one of them to
a duel to end the conflict.

David, a young
Israelite shepherd,

volunteers to face Goliath

and kills him with
a single stone from his sling.

Drawing Goliath's own sword,
David severs the giant's head,

and the Philistine army flees.

The Bible depicts
the Philistines

as a ruthless, violent people.

Historically they are believed
to have been in conflict

with the Israelites
for nearly 400 years.

Crucially, the dating evidence
for the fire matches up

with when they arrived
in the region.

Yosef may have a prime suspect
for Lachish's downfall.

[Yosef] In my opinion,
the most reasonable possibility

is that the Philistine
destroyed Lachish,

because they were a new, young,
strong, powerful population.

[Narrator] It seems Lachish
may have been destroyed

by the Philistine people.

Through the pottery evidence
and carbon dating

of the ruins of Lachish,
Yosef establishes

that the fire took place
around 1150 BCE.

The problem is that the fire
happened at least 150 years

before scholars say the battle
between David and Goliath

may have taken place,

at a time when Yosef
thinks the site

belonged to the Canaanites.

Could other sites in the region
provide more evidence

for the biblical showdown?

[Narrator] In central Israel
lies the hilltop site

of Tel Azekah.

♪ ♪

In the story of
David and Goliath,

the Philistines camp
somewhere close to Tel Azekah.

King Saul and the Israelites
come to face them.

David, an Israelite shepherd,
leaves his flock behind

and sets out from the hills

carrying provisions for his
brothers at the battlefront.

When David arrives, he hears
Goliath defying the Israelites

and goes down into the valley
to fight the giant.

♪ ♪

Archaeologist and biblical
historian Oded Lipschits

has been excavating this region
for 15 years.

[Oded Lipschits] Tel Azekah is
a special place first,

because it was never
dug properly,

and because it was one of
the first sites ever excavated

in the Holy Land, in Israel.

We are excavating here as part
of the largest expedition

operated in Israel
in the last 15, 20 years.

[Archaeologist 1]
Oded, come and see.

We just found the corner
of the tower.

[Narrator] Today, Oded is
interested in finding out more

about this site's
biblical connections

and has unearthed a large
ancient settlement.

[Oded] This is the wall, the
continuous of the wall,

over here as well,
foundation trench,

and Sasha measuring.

[Archaeologist 1] Wow, zoi!

[Oded] Where?

[Archaeologist 2]
Scarab, over there.

[speaking foreign language]

[Oded] What did you find?

[Archaeologist 1] I've just
found a scarab right here,

pretty small one.

[Oded] Wow!

[Narrator] Scarabs were
ancient Egyptian amulets

thought to protect the wearer.

[Oded] You can see
the hole, so it was, was hanged.

Amazing how did he find,
to find it, amazing.

[Narrator] The Egyptian scarab
is an intriguing find,

but more evidence is needed
to make a connection

to the biblical story.

[Oded] Hey, Daria.

Can we check it
under the microscope

to see what we have here?

Ah, wow!

Look at the edges of it,
so nice, so small and so nice.

And the other side of it.

We have here three signs.

[Narrator] The scarab shows
the ankh hieroglyph

symbolizing life.

[Oded] Wow, it's very nice.

[Narrator] The design
of the scarab reveals

that it comes from an earlier
period in Tel Azekah's history,

when the rulers of ancient
Egypt controlled this region.

So, what became
of the people here?

In the far corner of the site,

the team makes
a morbid discovery.

Among the rubble, they uncover
fragments of bones.

These are the remains
of four human bodies,

one of them a teenager.

Three of them are in cowering,
protective position,

and all have
widespread fractures,

consistent with massive
blunt force trauma.

Could this have been the work
of a biblical army camped here?

♪ ♪

Other digs at the site
have also uncovered

similar signs of destruction.

[Oded] We found all
the site was just destroyed.

Many people were killed.

Dozens of pottery vessels
broken all over.

Everything was left in ruins.

[Narrator] Oded thinks that
the closeness of this site

to Philistine territory
hints at the identity

of those responsible.

[Oded] I think that
the reason for this destruction

is the Philistines that were
settled in this exact time.

[Narrator] It's likely
a terrible battle

with the Philistines
happened here.

The problem is that
carbon dating suggests

that Tel Azekah was destroyed
around 1130 BCE.

The site would then
not be reoccupied

for another three centuries.

[Oded] The time
of David and Goliath,

around the 10th century BC,
the time of King David,

is exactly in the middle of the
time that Azekah was abandoned.

So, it means that the story
aimed to a period

where Azekah was not existing.

[Narrator] Evidence suggests
that both Tel Azekah

and Lachish were destroyed
around the same time,

before biblical historians

placed the battle
of David and Goliath.

So why would the story mention
such a pivotal event

using a ruined city?

Answers could lie on the other
side of this ancient frontier

in the home of Goliath himself.

[Narrator]
21 miles west of Jerusalem

lies the ancient site
of Tell es-Safi.

Archaeologist Aren Maeir has
spent the last three decades

excavating this site
and has found it rich

with ancient Philistine
artifacts.

[Aren Maeir] Every time someone
sticks a trowel into the earth,

something new comes up,

which is, can be both
exciting and surprising,

and of course, it helps us
understand the past.

[Narrator]
Today, he's investigating

the most fantastical element
of the biblical legend,

the existence of a giant
called Goliath.

The Bible says that the
legendary Philistine champion

was one of several
gigantic warriors

that came from a city
called Gath.

The problem is that the
location of Gath is a mystery,

and what we know
about the Philistines

doesn't quite match up
with the biblical legend.

[Aren] We have no
archaeological evidence

that any of the Philistines
were larger than other people.

All the skeletons that we have
found of Philistines,

they're normal height people.

[Narrator] Aren thinks that
the Philistine settlement

at Tell es-Safi
might hold some clues.

[Aren] One of the interesting
finds we've found at the site

was a small temple up in the
upper city on the eastern side.

The fascinating aspect of it
was right in the center

of the temple,
there were two column bases.

♪ ♪

[Narrator] The temple once stood
in the heart

of this Philistine settlement;

the two central columns
supported a heavy roof

and were spaced
an arm's length apart.

The Philistines are
thought to have built

a mighty temple in Gath.

Its design is intriguing;

it was held up by
two colossal columns.

A description of
a similar temple appears

in an Old Testament tale

featuring a legendary Israelite
warrior called Samson.

♪ ♪

Drawing supernatural strength
from his long hair,

Samson has slain hundreds
of Philistines.

♪ ♪

Betrayed by his lover
as he sleeps,

soldiers shear
his powerful locks,

then blind him
and take him prisoner.

His captors take him
to their holy temple

where Samson prays
to his own god

and is given back his strength.

He breaks the temple's
two central pillars,

bringing it crashing down
and killing himself,

along with thousands
of Philistines.

♪ ♪

Could this temple discovery
make this the city of Gath,

the home of Goliath?

The problem is Tel es-Safi
isn't the only Philistine site

with a similar temple,
so more evidence is needed.

[Aren] What we have here
is a gate

and a line of fortification
in both directions.

And this type of
large, monumental,

or sometimes we, we call it
megalithic masonry,

seems to indicate that this
was a massive fortification.

[Narrator] Tell es-Safi's
colossal walls protected a site

50 hectares in area,

the equivalent to around
90 football pitches.

In the 11th century BCE
in this region,

there's only one Philistine
location important enough

to be of such a colossal size.

This must be the city of Gath,

the mighty Philistine
stronghold.

It was surrounded
by a deep trench

and protected by
two massive walls

with one of the largest city
gates ever found in Israel.

Twice the size of other cities
in the region,

it was a place the Bible calls
the "home of giants."

♪ ♪

Aren heads to some ruins
to try and unlock the truth

behind why this site was known
as the home of giants,

and if there might be
a link to the story

of a supersized warrior
like Goliath.

[Aren] The fortifications
of the city and of the gate

were comprised of very large,
monumental stones.

This is a very nice example,

it's something close to
a meter long and a meter wide,

and about almost
a meter in depth,

and you can see
it's a massive stone,

and there's a whole line of them
running over here.

[Narrator] These blocks
date back

to the 10th to 11th
centuries BCE,

the time Goliath is believed
to have existed.

Some measure six feet long,
with the city's defensive wall

stretching around
the entire site.

[Aren] My theory is that
this was very impressive

when the city was in existence,

and perhaps people came
to the remains of the city

and looked at it, this is
the city of Gath, wow!

These boulders are enormous,

only a giant could move
such a boulder,

so there must have been
a whole race of giants

that lived at Gath,

and that's how maybe
the biblical story developed.

[Narrator]
Similar myths of giants

arose at other ancient sites

like at the Greek
Mycenaean site of Tiryns,

thought to have been
built by a cyclops.

So, was Goliath purely
a biblical legend?

Or could a man by that name
have once walked

in this ancient city?

A unique discovery
from the late 10th

to the early 9th centuries BCE
might be a clue.

[Aren] I'm holding a sherd that
has on it an incise description.

There's several letters
that are incised,

together it makes something like
"Al-w'at" and then "W'al,"

and broken off.

Now, our interpretation
of this inscription

is that these are two names,

that are not Semitic names,
but rather Indo-European names.

[Narrator] Linguists believe
the name Goliath

is similar to these names.

It also seems to have
an Indo-European origin,

perhaps reflecting
the Philistines'

possible Greek Aegean roots.

[Aren] As I always tell people,

this is not Goliath's
cereal bowl,

but it does tell us
that during the time

that according to
the biblical tradition,

Goliath and his family
lived at Gath,

we have now archaeological
evidence that there were

other people with other
non-Semitic Indo-European names

living at Gath.

[Narrator] This breakthrough
opens the door

to further discoveries that
could prove the existence

of an actual person
named Goliath.

It also reveals how a memory
of the Philistines

and their powerful city
might have been preserved

in the biblical tale.

So where did the biblical
authors believe

the giant's showdown
with David took place?

[Narrator] Archaeologist
Oded Lipschits and his team

are hunting for clues
that could connect

the ancient city of Tel Azekah

to the story of
David and Goliath.

The biblical authors reference
Tel Azekah as a key site

in the showdown,
a battle scholars date

to the 10th century BCE.

Yet the city was destroyed
200 years earlier

and lay abandoned at the time.

If Oded is to link the site
with the story,

he must first uncover
the importance of these ruins.

[Oded]
What do you find, Yitzhak?

[Yitzhak] I found a brilliant
cornerstone here, which is...

[Oded] Where is it?

[Yitzhak]
Yeah, maybe the Israelites.

As you can see,
we have a corner here,

uh, make a rectangular stone
like this.

[Oded] Yeah.
This is wonderful.

[Narrator] The team uncovers
the remains of a watch tower.

It dates back to
the 2nd century BCE

when the site was reoccupied.

[Oded] This is
a really wonderful find,

the complete contour
of the tower

coming back to the wall
of the citadel here

and with the line of the wall.

[Narrator] The tower is thought
to have stood 25 feet high

and was one of four towers

that formed part of
a defensive fortification

around the ancient settlement.

[Oded] This is
the corner of the tower,

the street is going
all the way here.

[Narrator] In the time
of the Israelites,

Tel Azekah was a stronghold
in the Judaean region.

Over 5,000 years, the site has
seen 25 different settlements,

some thriving, others
suffering war or disaster.

♪ ♪

Oded heads
to another excavation

to uncover its evolution.

[Oded] We are looking here at
one of the biggest sections

that were excavated during
10 seasons of excavation

here in Azekah;
it's 15 meters high.

And what we did, we started
from the topsoil to the bedrock,

and we could see that
5,000 years ago,

the first people of Azekah
came here.

[Narrator] A closer look
at these lost layers

reveals the Canaanites,
predecessors of the Israelites,

may have been the first to
recognize the site's value.

[Oded] In 1800 BC,
all of the site of Azekah

was fortified, it's the first
time that it was fortified,

and it's an unbelievably
strong fortification.

It's about one kilometer
all around the site

with some towers.

[Narrator] It is thought that
30,000 tonnes of mudbricks

were needed to construct
this megafortress;

a colossal investment.

So, what made this dusty, rocky
landscape worth defending?

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Oded] From the earliest time
that people

set and fortified the place,

it was because the location,
location, location.

Azekah is situated at the end
of a very long ridge

going always south.

This ridge is separating between

two geographical
and geopolitical unit

for hundreds and
thousands of years.

And in the biblical period,

this was Judah,
and here was Philistia.

[Narrator] The Bible has
a chilling Hebrew name

for this contested region:

Ephes Dammim,
the "border of blood."

A settlement here would have
a strategic viewpoint

over the border to control
trade or agriculture,

or to spot advancing armies.

[Oded] It's like an eagle nest
in the highest mountain

separating the two areas.

[Narrator] As Tel Azekah
had been destroyed

by the Philistines prior to
the story of David and Goliath,

why then would biblical authors
reference a ghost town?

[Oded] The message of the story
is we don't have to think

about Azekah as a fortified town
or as a town, or as a place,

but only a symbol of the border
between the two units.

Philistines and Israelites is
a story of importance,

because of this first time

that, you know, winning over the
strong power of the Philistines.

[Narrator] It seems
this strategic site

was only referenced
in the story

to symbolize a bigger Israelite
victory over the Philistines.

So, what about the rest
of the story?

The central element tells
of a giant being killed

by a shepherd with a sling.

Could it be
historically factual?

[Narrator] As archaeologists
excavate deeper in Lachish,

Professor Yosef Garfinkel
investigates the importance

of slings in battle

during the time of the story
of David and Goliath.

[Yosef] We don't know too much
about weapons in this time,

because we don't have much
archaeological data.

But all the times
there are new objects coming

which were buried and hidden
for thousands of years.

[Narrator] Past digs at Lachish
have unearthed a treasure trove

of these weapons.

[Yosef] In the site in one house
that my team excavated,

about 100 sling stones
were found in one room.

It's a very simple weapon,
everybody can prepare a sling

and everybody can collect
a few stones and shoot them,

but you need to be expert
in order to hit,

not just to shoot,
but also to hit.

[Narrator] These sling stones
are not from the supposed time

of David and Goliath;

they date to
a much later period

when a people called the
Assyrians attacked this city

in the 8th century BCE.

Wall carvings discovered
hundreds of miles away

at Nineveh in Iraq show them
being used at Lachish.

[Yosef] The relief covered
the whole room,

it's very loud and it depicts
the city of Lachish.

We can see here a row of archer.

In addition we can see
two slingers.

They have their sling
in the hand.

It's like artillery shooting it
today in modern battles.

[Narrator] The reliefs confirm
that slings were used

in ancient warfare,

but how powerful and accurate
were they in battle?

♪ ♪

The answer may lie at the Royal
Armouries in Leeds, England.

Researcher Lewis Everett is
dedicated to learning more

about ancient weapons.

Today he's putting
the firepower of a sling

to the test.

[Lewis Everett]
Slinging is very fun,

but it can also be
very frustrating,

because you expect to see
tangible progress,

but that only comes with
deliberate and patient practice.

[Narrator] Lewis is using
a replica of an ancient design

dating back to when the story
of David may have taken place

over 3,000 years ago.

[Everett] So here it is,
the sling.

The main part of the sling
is the pouch.

It's got two cords on this side,

you have a loop that goes
around one of the fingers,

the other cord has
a knot at the end,

and that is what you use to grab
onto and let go to release it.

The sling is
a very simple weapon,

it is not a complicated
piece of technology.

All it needs to do is retain
something at one end of it

and a means of releasing it
at the other.

[Narrator] Next, he must select
the perfect projectile.

[Everett] One of the main
advantages of a sling

is that you can find ammunition
just lying around.

This is the stone that
I'm gonna be shooting.

This is 200 grams,

and this gives you the power,
it gives you the accuracy.

[Narrator] To discover
the sling's impact,

Lewis rigs up
a radar chronograph

to measure the projectile's
kinetic energy.

[Everett] Kinetic energy
and momentum are important

because they tell us how much
power the sling stone will have

as it's delivering energy
to the target.

[Narrator] Then, for a target,
he sets up

a block of ballistics gel

with the same density
as human flesh.

With everything set,
now for the moment of truth.

♪ ♪

Slingers were used in battle
like archers,

and were capable of firing
stones over 650 feet.

[snap]

[Everett] Oh, that was bad.

[Narrator] The ancient weapon
is difficult to master.

[Everett] At a downward angle
it's quite difficult to get.

[snap]

[Narrator] As the projectile
is released...

[snap]

...the snap of the cord
creates an intimidating sound

to strike fear in the enemy.

[snap]

[snap]

[Everett] Unlike a bullet
or an arrow,

it hasn't penetrated the medium,

but instead sent a violent
shockwave throughout it.

[Narrator] So how powerful
were the projectiles?

Lewis consults the chronograph.

[Everett] 42 meters a second,
or 139 feet per second.

Compared to a bullet,
this is slow,

but also compared to a bullet,
this is so much heavier.

And so, by being
so much heavier,

it can sacrifice a lot of speed
and maintain its deadly impact.

[Narrator] Like being hit
by a flying hammer...

[snap]

...a victim could suffer
mutilated organs,

heavy internal bleeding,

or like Goliath,
a smashed skull.

[Everett] I would be
absolutely terrified

to be on the receiving end of
someone who's been practicing

this since childhood and knows
their sling and their skill.

[snap]

You can only imagine
what that would do

if it hit flesh and bone.

[Narrator] Armed with a sling to
protect his flock from wolves,

shepherd David could
easily have inflicted

a lethal injury to a human.

With the sling's power proven,

could there be
a historical truth

to what followed the battle--

the rise of David and the final
defeat of the Philistines?

[Narrator] Back in Lachish,
Professor Yosef Garfinkel

and his team are
excavating a new area.

[Archaeologist 1]
Okay, here we go!

[Narrator] This site could
offer new evidence

to help explore the Israelites'
rise to power.

After David is said
to have defeated Goliath,

he marries the daughter
of King Saul,

a man envious
of David's courage.

Fearing the wrath of Saul,

David and his followers seek
refuge in the wilderness.

♪ ♪

For years David survives
as an outlaw,

but his legend and his
following continues to grow.

♪ ♪

When King Saul dies,
David assumes the crown

and is then said to have
driven out Israel's enemies.

♪ ♪

As the team digs...

a clue emerges.

♪ ♪

[Yosef] This is
an excitement discovery.

I think we have here one side of
the bowl, and this fragment,

this should be
on the other side,

so this is something like this.

But still I see here
a lot of fragments,

so probably we'll have all
the fragments that is needed

to reconstruct
the complete bowl.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[Narrator]
After a careful wash...

[clinking]

[Yosef] Seven, eight.

[Narrator] Yosef inspects
the fragments.

[Yosef] Nine.

What characterized
the pottery of this time

is what we call red slip, you
see that we have red color here,

and it's not Philistine pottery
and it's not Canaanite pottery.

This is the pottery that
characterized Judah

in the 10th and 9th century BC.

[Narrator] To occupy this site,

on the edge of what was
Philistine territory,

suggests the Judean Israelite
people had expanded their rule.

Yosef will need
more than pottery

if he's to say for certain.

[Yosef] Let's have a look.

[Narrator] His team makes
another discovery,

a colossal defensive wall.

[Yosef] It's very strong,
you can see that it made

from stone, not bricks,
you can see that it's solid.

[Narrator] This unique
fortification is 13 feet thick

and would have stood
23 feet tall,

an intimidating site
to any invading army.

[Yosef] It's very exciting
to see the city wall here,

because we found it before on
the northern side of the site,

and now we have it on
the southern side of this site,

and carbon dating around 930 BC,

and this fit
the biblical tradition.

[Narrator]
This groundbreaking discovery

is a vital piece of evidence;

it suggests that
the people living here

were growing in power.

[Yosef] This is the most
important discovery

of our expedition.

[Narrator] Archaeologists have
uncovered fortifications

on other
Judaean Israelite sites,

suggesting shifts in power
across the region.

Following the destruction
of Gath,

the ancient Babylonians would
overrun the Philistines

in less than 150 years.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Locating a single, sweeping
Israelite victory

around the 10th century BCE
has so far proved elusive.

Archaeological evidence
suggests

a long and drawn-out conflict.

[Yosef] I personally think
that they took

historical fighting between
Israelites and Philistines

that took generation
over generation,

and it was in the end
crystalized into a story

of one Philistine
and one Judaean person.

This is the way people
remember things in antiquity.

[Narrator] The biblical authors
looked to have used the story

to symbolize their triumph
against a long-term foe.

The phrase "David and Goliath"
over time came to be used

by some to represent
the victory of an underdog.

[Oded] So, I think that always
it's better to think

about the meaning of the story,

to make sure that
we will understand

that the real force behind
this battle is God.

[Narrator] For many
people of faith,

the story of David and Goliath
is a literal, historical truth.

Others believe
the Old Testament

draws on real events and places

to help explain
an ancient rivalry.

Excavations at Gath have
unearthed hidden evidence

of megablocks and pottery

that shed light on the myth
of the giant Goliath.

[Oded]
Don't remove anything,

maybe only the poles, but you
can excavate this half square.

[Narrator] The discovery
of skeletons

and personal artifacts
at Tel Azekah

reveal the human cost
of conquest.

[Archaeologist 1]
This is a scarab.

[Oded] Wow!

[Narrator] And newly
unearthed remains

of an ancient fortified city at
Lachish reveal a people's rise.

The story of David and Goliath
endures to this day

as one of the most
powerful legends,

a tale of courage
against impossible odds.