The Second Shiloh Conference on the Bible & Archaeology

The Second Shiloh Conference on the Bible and Archaeology was conducted today at Shiloh.

It was fascinating, instructive and well-attended.

Rav Yoel Bin-Nun addressed the issue of a second, smaller and portable Ark of the Covenant which carried the necessities for the Urim and Tumim.  Prof. Finkelstein provided a background and indicated that Carbon14 confirms the fiery destruction of Shiloh around 1050 BCE.  Dvir Raviv described the Bar-Kochba period, late Roman, around Shiloh which includes 22 burial caves with identifiable remains of the period and 8 other sites including Turmos Aya and others.  Dr, Meitiling suggested that Shiloh provides the key to understanding that the beginning of the Israelite settlement in the hill-country as 14th century BCE.

Pictures:

Minister of Construction Uri Ariel greets and said:
"שילה זה מקום של חיים, של תפילה ושל התחברות...בנינו כבר הרבה 'בתי מקדש מעט' 
אבל אנחנו צריכים שייבנה גם בית המקדש האמיתי בהר הבית". 
(Translation: Shiloh is a place of life, of prayer and of 
joining together...we have built many synagogues 
(minor temples) but we also require that the 
real Temple be built on the Temple Mount").*

Professor Israel Finkelstein

Dr. Reut Ben-Aryeh

The crowd

The area of the northern plateau

P.S.  INN story.

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UPDATE


This:

A government minister from a nationalist religious party called Thursday for the Jewish Temple to be rebuilt on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  The statement...breaks a long-standing taboo on high-ranking government officials speaking about changing the fragile status quo on the holy and contested esplanade, and will likely draw ire from official Israeli circles and anger the Arab and Muslim world...

What "taboo"?

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And there was this announcement:

This Sunday, July 7th, Ariel University will commence its first season of excavations at Tel Shiloh. Excavations will be conducted on the eastern side of the site, adjacent to Area G of the Bar-Ilan University excavations directed by Prof. Israel Finkelstein in the early 1980s. Binyamin Har-Even, Head of Excavations and Surveys Branch of the Staff Officer of Archaeology Unit, will be joining me in directing the dig.  This year we will be conducting a short season, running until Thursday, July 18th. You are cordially invited to visit us during the course our work at the site. Please contact me to let me know if and when you’d like to stop by.

^