New excavation recently began at biblical Ashdod led by Ariel University and Lipscomb University. Ashdod was last excavated in the 1960’s under the direction of Moshe Dothan, who unearthed, among other things, the Philistine city gate. The new excavations are re-excavating this gate to better understand its layout and date. ABR staff member Abigail Van Huss and her husband Clayton both participated in the dig. You can read Abigail’s blog posts about her experience there during the first two weeks below. Biblically, Ashdod is best known as being one of the five main Philistine cities. After the Battle of Ebenezer, the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant, which had been brought from Shiloh, and took it to Ashdod (1 Sam 5:1).
Sources:
- https://gath.wordpress.com/2026/06/29/visit-to-the-ashdod-excavations/
- https://abigailsarchaeologicaladventures.wordpress.com/2026/06/27/ashdod-season-0-week-1/
- https://abigailsarchaeologicaladventures.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/ashdod-season-0-week-2/
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