Shiloh was where the Holy Sanctuary was located prior to the Jerusalem Holy Temple. It is first mentioned in the Book of Joshua, which also states that the Holy Sanctuary was built there and stood for about 400 years during the era of the Judges. In the Book of Samuel, Shiloh is mentioned as a religious center, where Elkana and his family go to give sacrifices to G-d. During that pilgrimage, Elkana’s wife, Hana, asks G-d to give her a son and eventually gives birth to Samuel the Prophet.
Shiloh is believed by researchers to have fallen into ruin after the Israelites’ unsuccessful war with the Philistines, in which the enemy took the Holy Ark captive. The Ark was soon returned to Israel, but was never brought back to Shiloh. Instead, it was taken to Kiryat Yearim until King David had it delivered to Jerusalem.
Archaeological findings indicate that a Jewish presence continued at Shiloh until the year 722 BCE, when the Kingdom of Israel was defeated by Assyria. According to the Book of Judges and the Mishna, unwed Jewish women traditionally went to the vineyards of Shiloh to dance on Tu B’Av.
Shiloh is north of Beit El, Israel, where the excavations are currently being carried out under the auspices of the Archaeological Staff Officer for Judea and Samaria in the IDF Civilian Administration Antiquities Unit and the Binyamin local authority.
The following photos reveal the artefacts discovered and the archaelogists at work in Shiloh.
Bar Ilan University archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of a Philistine temple in the ancient city of Gath, home of the Biblical Goliath, buried in one of the largest tels (ancient ruin mounds) in Israel.
The temple and a number of ritual items dating back to the 10th century BCE were discovered at Tel Tsafit (Tell es-Safit/Gath) by Professor Aren Maeir of BIU’s Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology and his international team. The tel is located about halfway between Ashkelon and Jerusalem, near Kiryat Gat along the southern coastal plain.
Maeir stated, “Interestingly, the architectural design of this temple, with its two central pillars, is reminiscent of the architectural image that is described in the well-known Biblical story of Samson and the Philistines.” He added that the discovery could indicate that the story of Samson reflects a type of temple that was in use in Philistia at the time. He also said that his team had found impressive evidence of an earthquake in the 8th century BCE, reminiscent of the earthquake mentioned in the Book of Amos 1:1. The team uncovered walls that were moved from their place and collapsed like a deck of cards as a result of the powerful earthquake – assessed at a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale.
In addition, Maeir stated, the summer’s excavations have uncovered further evidence of the destruction of the city by Hazael, King of Aram Damascus, around 830 BCE, as mentioned in Kings II 12:18, as well as evidence of the first Philistine settlement in Canaan (around 1200 BCE).
The Jewish people are indigenous inhabitants of the Land of Israel.
The right of Jews to execute their rights as the indigenous people of the Land of Israel is in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the U.N. resolutions on the Culture of Peace. The United Nations currently recognizes as indigenous any nation that declares itself as such, and according to section 10 of the UN General Assembly’s 2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, “indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their lands or territories. No relocation shall take place without the free, prior and informed consent of the indigenous peoples concerned and after agreement on just and fair compensation and, where possible, with the option of return.”
This right, counters the false claim that Jews are “occupiers” in their homeland. “In accordance with international law,” the Jewish people have the right to live in all parts of their indigenous homeland and to maintain and develop their religious and cultural identity as indigenous to the land. Israel fits all the criteria to be recognized internationally as indigenous natives to the Land of Israel.
Please view the catagories on Maps of the Holy Land, Tombs of the Israel’s Ancestors and Prophets, Antiquities of the Holy Land etc. its places, mountains, streams, rivers, Jerusalem Temple Mount and of course historical documentation of the people of Israel.
