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Archaeological Uncovers a New Name

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the stories-come-from-somewhere dept.

* * Beatles-Beatles writes to tell us Reuters is reporting that scientists have found a shard of pottery in an archaeological dig that appears to have the Philistine renderings of the name Goliath. While the obvious leaps of faith have been made it is still an interesting find as it is the first time the name Goliath has been found in that particular locale.

11 of 50 comments (clear)

  1. Archaeological... by GenP · · Score: 2, Funny

    *dig*, perhaps? On ./ no one can hear you utilize strange grammar!

  2. Philistine renderings. by rookworm · · Score: 4, Funny

    For more Philistine renderings, see below.

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    1. Re:Philistine renderings. by jlehtira · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, no, it's genuine. Or at least it might be. I for one think it's extremely likely that Goliath's hometown was running a successful souvenir trade for tourists visiting those parts, producing thousands of "Goliath"-pots and other branded products. This is not to say the "David vs. Goliath" story is true, but at least the story exists - thus the opportunity for 4) PROFIT!!!!!! Imagine archaeologists digging up a peculiar mug with barely readable markings saying "Yoda"..

  3. Re:Believers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No kidding. I guess if you've got a religious agenda it makes perfect sense. Also, it's not like anybody else throughout history could possibly have been given the name Goliath. For all we know it could have been a common name back then, so it's hardly definitive proof of his existance.

    I guess thousands of years from now, somebody is going to find an old gift with 'for Bob' engraved on it and claim it's how we used to spell Jesus, so obviously he must have been real and returned in 2000 right on cue.

  4. Archeological... by Llywelyn · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Archaeological Uncovers a New Name"

    Sorry, the reader's brain was unable to parse this title. Please try again with something written in the English language.

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    1. Re:Archeological... by vertinox · · Score: 2, Funny

      Archaeological was his name. His parents Paleological and Astronomical and they thought it would be fitting when choosing his name as a baby.

      However, as you can tell, Arechaeological had been looking for years for a replacement name and figured Golaith was good as any.

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  5. Linear A by dargaud · · Score: 3, Informative

    Why is it that nowadays archeology is considered newsworthy only if it has something to do with the bible ?
    A few days ago there was a much more interesting discovery in Creta of several tablets written in Linear B (1200BC, the written language of the Acheans [the Greeks] of the Tojan war, and also the first written language ever translated thanks to a computer in the 60s), and also in the much rarer and much more misterious Linear A (c. 1700BC), still undeciphered.
    I'd expect Slashdoters to be more interested by languages decyphered by computer or still mysterious than by some vague myth...

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  6. What Summary Should Have Said by Somegeek · · Score: 5, Informative

    First Archaeological Evidence of the Name Goliath

    A shard of pottery found in southern Israel was inscribed with what is believed to be the original form of the name Goliath. The shard dates from about 900 BC. and is from the supposed hometown of Goliath of the biblical story of David and Goliath. Before this discovery there had not been any evidence outside of the Bible that the name Goliath had ever been used in ancient Israel.

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  7. Re:I'd be skeptical by digitect · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Google is your friend:

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  8. Re:Believers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Also, it's not like anybody else throughout history could possibly have been given the name Goliath. For all we know it could have been a common name back then, so it's hardly definitive proof of his existance.

    You're missing the point. What this shows, if it's genuine, is that the name existed at all. Prior to this, no evidence had ever been found outside the Bible that the name Goliath was used by the ancient Palestinians, ever.

    So, yeah, of course this doesn't prove that the Bible story is true. What it does do, if it's genuine, is remove one piece of ammunition from the arsenal of the scholars who are arguing that the Bible story isn't true. Big, big difference.

  9. Anthropology Jokes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I once saw a notice posted in an Anthro Dept at a major university:

    Diggers needed for Archeological Site...

    Somone had scrawled "We are Digroes Not Diggers" on it.

    Below that, someone else had written "No, we are Anthro-Americans."

    Anthropolgists date flakes.