The Washington times., 1923-07-07
PALESTINE PITS
YIELD BIBLE
PROOF
Ancient Shiloh Site Excavated
BY Dane and Testament
Verified.

PHILADELPHIA, July RE
markable verification Of the Biblical
account Of events in Palestine after
the conquest by the Jews has been
revealed by trial excavations on the
site of the ancient Shiloh, according
to DR.. w. r. Albright, director Of
the American School of Oriental Re-
search in Jerusalem, in letter to
the. Rev. DR.. James Alan Montgom-
cry. professor of Hebrew and Arann-
aic in the University of Pennsylva-
MIA ana Of Old Testament language
and literature in the Episcopal Di-
vinity School.
Heretofore no archaeological work
has been done at Shiloh or in any of
the old Israelite sites of the high
lands, DR.. Albright said. The arch
Biological field, therefore, is expected
to shed much interesting light on
the early history Of Israel. The
present work Is under the direction
Of DR.. Aage Schmidt, prominent
Danish scholar.
At First Unsuccessful.
"Dr. Schmidt sank about q score
Of pits on the site OF the old town,
finding the depth Of debfic to range
from more than four meters to less
than a meter" said DR.. Albright.
His first pit was rather unlucky,
as it happened to come under an old
terrace wall, no longer visible, where
debric from above had collected,
yielding nothing but confusion Of
pOtSherdS from all ages
"The majority Of the pits, however,
showed a clear qualification repre-.
senting early Israelite, Seleucido-
Roman and Arab. No Canaanite
stratum was found.
THE result of the trial excavations
agree remarkably we'll with Biblical
indications. Shiloh seems not to
have been occupied at all until the
tabernacle was pitched there, soon
after the conquest of Palestine by
the Israelites, about 1880 B. c.
'The reason for the selection Of
Shiloh for the site of the tabernacle
and the more permanent structure
that soon replaced the tent, appears
to have been simply it's central loca-
ton in the northeastern part of Mt
Ephra1m, though there may have
been a particularly sacred tomb Of
some primitive saint or patriarch
to give the place it's initial sanctity.
The total absence Of characteristic
Canaanite sherds does not favor the
existence of a Hebrew settlement
there before the conquest, as at other
sites like Shechem or Bethel.
Destroyed by Philistines.
AFTER the battle Of Ebenezer and
the loss of the Ark, Shiloh seems
to have fallen into the hands of the
Philistines, who destroyed it's sane
tuary. In all events, the Ark never
returned to Shiloh, and when next
we meet the priests of the house of
Phinehas, about O. generation later,
they are residing at Mob, on Mt.
Scopus, just northeast of Jerusalem.
From several passages in Jere-
miah 0:12, 26:6, etc. we learn that
in the prophets time Shiloh Law in
ruins and apparently had been de-
stroyed so long before that it was
proverbial.
Though the destruction of the
sanctuary by the Philistines. which
may be assumed with great nroha-
bility, put an end to the prosperity
Of the town, there were still houses
there toward the end Of the tenth
century, as we may see from the
story OF Jeroboam's wife and the
Prophet Allah the Shilonite.
ANY hopes that the town NAV
have had for future prosperity were
suppressed effectually by the esatb-
lishment of the official sanctuary at
Bethel by Jeroboam I, about gao Is.
c. When the Book of Judges was
compiled, probably about 700 r. G.
the site OF Shiloh evidently was
abandoned, as the redactor consid-
ers 1t necessary to give an exact
description Of the location of the
place. Judges 21:19. That explains
the absence of middle Palestinian
pottery remains 600 to 600 b. c.
archaeological confirmation of the
statements in the Bible"