A Complex Migration

Authors Tristan Barako and Assaf Yasur-Landau raise fascinating questions regarding the mode of transport used by the Sea Peoples, including the Philistines, during their migrations (“One if by Sea…Two if by Land,” BAR 29:02). A pivotal question is whether Late Bronze/Early Iron Age galleys used by the Sea Peoples—like the one depicted five times on the walls of Ramesses III’s temple at Medinet Habu—could transport a culture and its movables. Barako argues that penteconters (50-oared ships) could be used for this purpose; however, in his response to Yasur-Landau, Barako backs away from this assertion and contends that actually there could have been merchant ships in the fleet (“Philistines Upon the Waters,” BAR 29:04). In doing so he muddies the waters.

Barako then relies on parallels from Egyptian and Syro-Canaanite merchant ships, ignoring the question of how available such ships would have been to the Sea Peoples during their migratory phase. While some Syro-Canaanite ships appear to have been absorbed into the Sea Peoples’ fleet, the case for Egyptian ships being pressed into service is at present nonexistent.