Ashkelon    It's coast stretches to the northern border with Lebanon at Rosh Hanikra and south to the Gaza Strip. Just north of Gaza and 36 miles south of Tel Aviv. Archaeologists have unearthed a large cemetery for dogs in Ashkelon. They do not know the significance of this cemetery or why dogs would have merited this treatment. Ashkelon is built upon the ruins of past civilizations. This was one of five Philistine city-states along with Gath, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod. Biblically the place where Delilah cut Samson's hair. {Judges 14:16} The city was first settled at the end of the third millennium B.C. It was conquered by the Philistines in the second half of the 12th century. Here, after King Saul was slain by the Philistines, David lamented  { }     Even after David could not dislodge them from Ashkelon. This was finally accomplished by the Assyrian conqueror Tiglath-Pileser III in 734 B.C. After roughly 600 years in the region, the Philistines disappeared. The city passed through subsequent invaders before enjoying a renaissance under the Greeks and Romans. Believed to be the birthplace of Herod in 37 B.C., who enlarged the city. Under the Romans, Ashkelon was also granted the rare privilege of being exempt from taxes. The city became a Christian city in the Byzantine period then was captured by the Muslims in 638 A.D. The Crusaders came next in 1153, but were defeated by Saladin. Richard the Lion Heart led the Crusaders back, but they were eventually driven out in 1280 by Sultan Baybars. The city was then abandoned until 1948 when the Jews of the new State of Israel began to rebuild it. Today, Ashkelon is enjoying a growth spurt, fueled in part by immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Recite finds include a Byzantine church, a Roman tomb and one of the oldest arched gateways in the world. Most notable recent finds is a bronze and silver calf. More than 3,500 years old. RETURN