Archaeologists excavating Tel Shiloh - the ancient site the Bible identifies as the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant for nearly 400 years - have uncovered ancient storage jars containing roughly 500 burned olive pits and lentils, buried beneath a later Israelite-period ritual deposit.
The jars were found next to an ancient Canaanite fortification wall at the site, located in the West Bank and traditionally identified as biblical Shiloh, where Scripture says the Ark rested before the Philistines captured it in battle.
Excavation director Dr. Scott Stripling, president of the Near East Archaeological Society, told Fox News Digital that the olives were likely preserved in oil before an accidental fire swept the area thousands of years ago. "Once it started on fire, then it caught that whole area on fire," Stripling said, noting the team plans to expand the dig next year to determine exactly what the space was used for.
The find sits below a ritual deposit that had already produced roughly 10,000 animal bones, pottery vessels, and eight gold and silver objects. Stripling said the Israelites who later worshipped at Shiloh likely had no idea the far older Canaanite jars were buried beneath them. The jars are now being restored at Tel Aviv University, where researchers hope radiocarbon dating on the burned pits - ideal material for the process - will confirm a Middle Bronze Age date.
The discovery is the latest at Shiloh following an earlier 2026 find of a monumental structure whose dimensions and east-west orientation closely match the biblical Tabernacle described in Exodus. Researchers have been careful to stress they have not found the Ark itself - but each layer removed at Shiloh continues to add texture to the biblical account of Israel's first worship center, and the sacred history it once held.
