THE PLAIN OF PHILISTIA, 141
Shekeir, then it is there that the remains may be found of Mammas Ascalonis, or the Port of Askelon, which Mons. Guerin sought for in vain along the coast further south, sunset having prevented him from extending his search for the port, northward of Skeikh 'Awed (Oualy ech-Cheikh Haoued) Guerin, " Jude'e," ii, 151, 152.
The maritime belt extending from Gaza and Askelon, back to the hills bounded by the Valley of Bureir, is under the control, exercised from the earliest ages, of one or the other of those ancient places. The whole of Northern Philistia with its open plains, felt the weight of Ashdod up to the crusading times. To guard the northern frontier towards the interior, there was Ekron, protecting the passes by Kamleh and Wady Surar. The southern frontier towards the interior appears to have been similarly guarded by Gath. These were the five dominant cities of ancient Philistia. The sites of four of them are well known, only Gath is still in dispute.
The new survey now shows not only the names of ancient sites, but also the natural features of the ground ; and thus the probable situation of a place intended to guard the inland part of the southern frontier of the country, maybe examined irrespectively of other considerations. Wherever the hills on the east of Gaza afford the readiest access from the south into the Philistine Plains, there Gath should be sought, especially in connection with the " Way to Sharaaim." 1 Sam. xvii, 52. An examination of the hills of South-Eastern Philistia shows that the passage from the northern plains to Wady Sheriah, so as to keep out of the way of Gaza, is most easily made along a line running southward from 'Arak el Menshiyeh in the south-eastern angle of the plains. The tendency of the hills and valleys is here noith and south. The ground also forms a sort of terrace or plateau between the descending slopes westward and the ascending slopes eastward. Westward of this line, the valleys and ranges run towards the coast, and form a succession of " ridge and furrow " on too obstructive a scale for a through route across them. Eastward of the same
line, the country rises rapidly from a mean altitude of 500
