Sharon, Plain

Frechen, M., Neber, A., Dermann, B., Tsatskin, A., Boenigk, W. Ronen, A. (2002) Chronostratigraphy of aeolianites from the Sharon coastal plain of Israel. Quaternary International 89, 31 —44. 

In this story, we can dimly perceive the occupation of Hebron by the Hurrians, which has always been such a mystery to scholars. The Hurrian Calebites of Hebron, the Kirjath-arba, Dog-men or Children of Heth, are therefore the mysterious roses on the Plain of Sharon. David s battles with the Philistines also symbolize the ongoing process of eliminating the Anakim from Israel. 

The real mandrake or Mandragora officinalis is one of the most striking plants of Lebanon and the Plain of Sharon. It has a central bunch of dark-blue, bell-shaped blossom on a flat disk of very broad primroselike leaves. 

The symmetry implicit in a St Andrews cross would have been important to Lord Anson. He established a fine garden of dog roses, the symbol of resurrection of the men of the Plain of Sharon. 

---