ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNCOVERED A STONE BLOCK INSCRIBED WITH THE NAME OF THE BIBLICAL CITY OF EKRON AND ITS KINGS, the first conclusive evidence of the Philistine city burned to the ground more than 2500 years ago.
Ekron is referred to in the book of I Samuel telling of the Philistines capturing the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ and taking it to Ekron. After a plague afflicted the city, the Ark was sent back to Judea. The five line inscription was uncovered at a dig 25 miles south of Tel Aviv. The stone was found in the ruins of a temple believed built around 700 B.C.
The inscription states that Achish, son of Padi, king of Ekron, built a temple dedicated to a goddess. Achish is the Phoenician version of the name Ikausu, who is mentioned in 7th century B.C. Assyrian writings as the king in Ekron.