Tel Shiloh (Khirbet Seilun) Archaeological Settlement in the Political Struggle Over Samaria
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Tel Shiloh (Khirbet Seilun) Archaeological Settlement in the Political Struggle over Samaria 2014 Tel Shiloh (Khirbet Seilun) Archaeological Settlement in the Political Struggle over Samaria 2014 Table of contents November 2014 1. Location of the site and the organizations involved in its management 4 2. The political importance of Tel Shiloh 6 Written by: Yonathan Mizrachi and Anna Veeder 3. Archaeological research at Tel Shiloh 7 Edited by: Dalia Tessler Proof-editing: Dana Hercbergs 3.1 Chronicle of the excavations Graphic Design: Lior Cohen 3.2 The archaeological finds at Tel Shiloh Photographs: Emek Shaveh Mapping: Shai Efrati 4. Searching for the Tabernacle at Tel Shiloh: religious traditions and archaeological research 10 5. Evangelicals and settlers 11 6. Presenting the site to the public 14 6.1 Signposts and directions at the site 6.2 The “Haroeh Tower” Emek Shaveh (cc) | Email: [email protected] | website www.alt-arch.org 6.3 The audio-visual presentation Emek Shaveh is an organization of archaeologists and heritage professionals focusing on 6.4 The Museum at “Haroeh Tower” the role of tangible cultural heritage in Israeli society and in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 7. The development plans: Tel Shiloh’s archaeological park 18 We view archaeology as a resource for strengthening understanding between different peoples and cultures. 8. There is another way 20 9. Conclusion 22 This publication was produced by Emek Shaveh (A public benefit corporation) with the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Israel, the Federal Department for Foreign Affairs Switzerland (FDFA) and Cordaid. Responsibility for the information contained in this report belongs exclusively to Emek Shaveh. This information does not represent the opinions of the abovementioned donors. 1. Location of the site and the organizations involved in its management Tel Shiloh (Shiloh Mound) is situated in southern Samaria (in the West Bank), north of the Palestinian village Turmus ‘Aya and west of the settlement of Shiloh, and is included within the settlement’s borders. The name of the ancient settlement has been preserved over time in the Arabic name for the site, “Khirbet Seilun.” It is managed by the “Mishkan Shiloh Association – The Center for the Study and Development of the Cradle of Settlement in the Land of Israel,” along with the Binyamin Regional Council. In Israel and the West Bank, antiquities sites are managed by the Nature and Parks Authority. Tel Shiloh is the first instance where an archaeological site in the West Bank is managed by a private foundation and a regional council. Tel Shiloh is situated on privately owned Palestinian land, and until the beginning of the 1980s, families from the village of Qaryut lived in the site. When the State of Israel began conducting archaeological excavations at the site, the residents were evicted and today, the Palestinians are unable to work their land or access it for any other reason. As the site is now included within the settlement, it is possible to deny their entry to the archaeological tel (a multi-layered site) on the grounds that they do not possess entry permits to the area of the settlement. View of the heart of the ancient tel 4 5 2. The political importance of Tel Shiloh 3. Archaeological research at Tel Shiloh Tel Shiloh is one of the most highly invested-in archaeological-tourist sites in the 3.1 Chronicle of the excavations West Bank. The Binyamin Regional Council regards the site as a central feature in the The site was excavated by various expeditions throughout the 20th century and once development of tourism in the area. Developing the tel is also of central importance in again in recent years. From 1926-1932 a Danish expedition conducted extensive the policies of the current government. For example, the ceremony inaugurating the excavations at the site. Another excavation was conducted in 1981-1984 by researchers new tourist site at the tel, a lookout tower called “Migdal Haroeh” in Tel Shiloh which from Bar-Ilan University. From 2010, excavations have been carried out by the took place in July 2013, was attended by Minister of the Economy Naftali Bennett, 4 University of Ariel and the Staff Officer for Archaeology at the Civil Administration Building and Construction Minister Uri Ariel, Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin, focusing on the western section of the site, the foot of the tel on its southern side, and former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and others.1 The inauguration of a tower in an on the northern edge. archaeological tel would, one would think, constitute a marginal event in the settlement activities in the West Bank, but the presence of such senior political and military figures 3.2 The archaeological finds at Tel Shiloh at the ceremony clearly indicate that Tel Shiloh carries special significance in the Tel Shiloh is located at the heart of the mountain range between the Jordan Valley in political struggle over the settlement project in Samaria. Developing the site is a clear the East and the coastal region in the South. The first urban settlement in the mountain means of drawing large numbers of visitors and forming a broad consensus around its region emerged in the Middle Bronze Age II (18-16th BCE) with the establishment of significance as an inseparable part of the State of Israel. It appears that the managers of the cities Jerusalem, Nablus, Hebron and others. One of the prominent characteristics Tel Shiloh are working to strategically position the site as a politically neutral alternative of urban centers from that period is the presence of a wall surrounding the heart of to the City of Hebron, following a decision by the current Minister of Education to scale the settlement. Shiloh’s wall at the time surrounded an area the size of approximately down school children’s visits to the city.2 30 dunam (30,000 m2). Archaeological research suggests that Shiloh was smaller than In 2014 building plans for Tel Shiloh were submitted to the Central planning Bureau of some of the other cities in the mountain region such as Nablus and Jerusalem. A clay Judea and Samaria. The plans feature a 11,000 m2 visitors’ center – an unprecedentedly figurine discovered in the foundations of the Middle Bronze Age wall attests to the large facility for an antiquities site. According to the plan, the tel would be developed influence of the northern kingdoms in the Land of Israel/Palestine and Syria at the time into a conference, events and tourism center with the capacity to accommodate 5,000 on ritual practices.5 visitors per day. Its goal is to strengthen the settlements and the Israeli presence in the Following a hiatus, the site was resettled in the Iron Age I (11th Century BCE). At area through tourism. the time it was a small village whose residents only partly used the structures from Further evidence to the site’s importance in national programs is the fact that Tel the preceding period. A figurine featuring an Egyptian inscription from the Iron Age Shiloh has been included in the category of national heritage sites funded by the State discovered at the site attests to links between the region and the Egyptian kingdom.6 of Israel. Today Tel Shiloh is one of the most highly-funded antiquities sites in the West Egyptian finds in the mountain region are commonplace for this period. However, it Bank.3 To date, 20 million NIS have been invested in its development. Plans for future is unclear how significant Egypt’s influence was in the area or whether this influence development will entail a further investment of tens of millions of shekels. was commercial, political, or military. The settlement was destroyed following a violent assault on the village and it remained in its ruined state apparently until the 8th century BCE (Iron Age II), and it was abandoned once again within the same century. Historians associate its abandonment or destruction with the Assyrian conquest at the end of the 8th century BCE. 1) Photographs from the inauguration of the Migdal Ha-Ro’eh, Ancient Shiloh’s Facebook Page; M. Miskin, “This Has Been Our Land for Almost 4,000 Years,” Arutz 7, 24th July 2013. 4) H. Huberman, Thirty Years Later: Returning to Excavate Tel Shiloh, [Heb.] Arutz 7, July 2) R. Wilf, “Instead of Tours to Hebron, Student Field trips to Shiloh”[Heb.] NRG, July 22, 22, 2010. 2013. 5) O. Gat, “Second conference on Tel Shiloh”, 31 July 2014. 3) Government Decision No. 4306 [Heb.] (TMR 2), February 14, 2012 (entered into law on 6) M. Popovitz, “An Inscription on an Egyptian Figurine from Shiloh – New library”, Judea February 23, 2012). and Samaria studies 1996 (Heb), pp.33-36. 6 7 The second century BCE, the Hellenistic period, witnessed the development of the those of Helena, the mother of Constantine, in the fourth century CE, or whether it had settlement, once again over the ruins of the older site. This settlement was destroyed in been inherited from older Roman-Hellenistic traditions or even from earlier periods. the second or first centuries BCE, and there are those who associate the destruction with The residential structures used by the inhabitants of the site during the Byzantine the Hasmonean conquest. During the early Roman period, the settlement expanded and period continued to be in use during the early Arab period, the Abbasid period, and its remains have been found throughout the present-day area of the site and beyond, even during the Mamluk period (13th Century CE).12 in excavations conducted south of the tel, and in the settlement of Shiloh.7 As there are scant remains from this period, it is difficult to estimate how large a settlement it was.