In 2005 the Diggings Tour was thrilled to find 18 ostraca in their excavations, the first time we had ever found written material. Unfortunately the words were not of earth-shattering importance: each of those ostraca was nothing more than a receipt!
It was very different for the excavators of Tel es-Safi, the newly identified site of ancient Gath. I don't know how many ostraca they found, but one in particular shot straight into the headlines - watch the film to find out why.
The "More info" option takes you to a book about the Philistines which, although it does not include this latest discovery, does give a good picture of what is known about the Philistines, who are usually identified with the "Peoples of the Sea". I'm not entirely sure that I agree with that identification but it is certainly a respectable one.
Goliath