Archaeologists recently uncovered ancient food remains at biblical Shiloh, the ancient site where the Bible says the Ark of the Covenant was housed for centuries. The remains were found at Tel Shiloh, an archaeological site in the West Bank that is traditionally identified as biblical Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept before it was taken by the Philistines.

Discovery Details

The discovery was made beneath an Israelite-period ritual deposit and adjacent to an ancient Canaanite fortification wall, according to the excavation team. Two of the jars contained olives, while a third held lentils, according to archaeobotanical analysis — and one of the vessels contained some 500 burned olive pits.

The olives in the jar were likely preserved in oil before they were burned thousands of years ago, said Scott Stripling, excavation director and the president of the Near East Archaeological Society. Stripling, who is based in Texas, told Fox News Digital that ‘some sort of accident’ likely started a fire — and ended up preserving the olives for thousands of years.

Before reaching the jars, archaeologists excavated an Israelite-period ritual deposit containing roughly 10,000 animal bones, pottery vessels and eight gold and silver objects, including pendants and earrings, Stripling said. The deposit was not an ordinary garbage pit, he said — but a favissa, where the remains of sacrificial offerings were deliberately buried rather than discarded with everyday waste.

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