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Good morning. It’s one of the most vivid of stories from the Bible, the contest between the giant Philistine Goliath and the shepherd boy hero David. I remember it from scripture lessons; how David took up the heavily armed and armoured giant’s challenge to single combat. How David refused protective armour but prepared a simple sling and five smooth pebbles. How the giant mocked his youth and threatened to dismember him. And then how David projected one tiny pebble with devastating accuracy onto the weak spot on the giant’s forehead, killing him instantly. The story represents the Israelite defeat of the Philistines. It is also the origin of our use of their name to stand for thuggish ignorance and contempt for culture. But it turns out we were wrong to write the Philistines off as big lumbering idiots. Thirty years of archaeological research at the site of the Philistine city of Ashkelon, suggests that the Philistines were anything but ‘Philistine.’ The excavation has shown well designed streets and dwellings, finely wrought ceramics and excellent wine. They may even have mastered the art of smelting copper. Study of their DNA suggests that they came from the Western Mediterranean giving some credence to a theory that the Philistines were descendants of Greek warriors who never made it home from the Trojan war. Compared with their Hebrew neighbours who were mostly hill farmers they were refined, rich and sophisticated. They knew how to live well. What they didn’t leave, as far as we can tell, were any texts, unlike their Israelite neighbours. What was distinctive about the Israelites was not their wealth or culture but their very particular relationship with their tribal God, a God who could not be represented by an image, but who was inexorably demanding. From belief in this God has emerged through time the theology and sense of personhood that has created the Western world and is still implicit in our morality and values. They are a precious heritage preserved through sacred texts laws, legends and stories appreciated by children such as that of David and Goliath. The research into the Philistines challenges us because we so often assume that the most important measure of human fulfilment is material well-being. To be prosperous, to be well fed and entertained, to enjoy striking architecture and well-designed household goods, to be defended by a superior technology; surely these are marks of our sophistication and advancement. They are indeed real achievements and I would never be one to sneer at good wine, art and culture. I expect life in Philistine Ashkelon was a lot more comfortable than that in the shepherds’ huts of ancient Israel. But the Philistines are long gone; all that remains are their fascinating material artefacts. The values of ancient Israel on the other hand are alive and still bear fruit, not least because they are invisible, passed on from mind to mind and from heart to heart.