during Iron Age I, in the 12th–11thcenturies BCE, Ekron, which is located very near the Sorek Valley, was thedominant Philistine center, and the biblical tradition accordingly places thenarrative concerning the Philistines in that valley.

duringIron Age IIA, the 10th–9th centuries BCE, Gath in the Elah Valley becamethe dominant Philistine center and the biblical tradition recounting theborder disputes between the Philistines and the Israelites accordingly shiftsfrom the Sorek Valley to the Elah Valley.

The second tradition relating to the Sorek Valley tells of the Ark of theCovenant, which was kept in the Tabernacle at Shiloh in the Samaria Hillsand was sent with the Israelite army into battle against the Philistines.