The Associates for Biblical Research are very pleased to announce the official kick off for the archaeological excavations at Shiloh in Israel. After 18 months of prayer and intensive preparation, our first week of digging at the former site of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant was a smashing success!

Every morning during this past week, the sun has risen between the hills east of the ancient tel of Shiloh, and we get to see the western hills capture this early light and see the shadows against those hills gradually fade. In this daily beauty, we have completed the third of four weeks of ABR's Shiloh excavation. We had some of our team depart after the second week to return to classes or other obligations and had new team members arrive to the site for the third week. All workers have remained strong and dedicated as we confronted the highest temperatures yet on this dig. 

Week two of the Shiloh Excavations continued the positive trajectory that was established in week one. Our efforts flourished under the leadership of Dr. Scott Stripling, the Director of Excavations. The excavation team is uncovering the city wall and nearby structures in the north and northwestern sectors of the tell. The city wall dates to the MB III period.

We exceeded all expectations, and I had pretty high ones!' was what Dig Director Scott Stripling said to the whole team at our final meeting on Friday evening. It was a wonderfully successful first season for the ABR Shiloh Excavation.