Archaeologists Unearth 3 Shiloh Jars With Olives and Lentils Beneath 10,000-Bone Ritual Deposit
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 19
Archaeologists Unearth 3 Shiloh Jars With Olives and Lentils Beneath 10,000-Bone Ritual Deposit
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 19
Summary
Three storage jars uncovered at Tel Shiloh held olives and lentils, including one vessel with about 500 burned olive pits buried beneath an Israelite-period ritual deposit.
Archaeobotanical analysis identified two jars of olives and a third of lentils, while excavation director Scott Stripling said a fire likely preserved the contents after the olives had been stored in oil.
Roughly 10,000 animal bones, pottery and eight gold and silver objects lay above the jars in what the team identified as a favissa — a burial place for sacrificial remains rather than ordinary trash.
About 2 meters of debris covered the vessels near an ancient Canaanite fortification wall, and the burned pits are expected to aid radiocarbon dating as researchers restore the jars at Tel Aviv University.
Next year's wider excavation aims to determine whether the jars came from a kitchen, storage room or another part of the settlement, with Stripling expecting a Middle Bronze Age date.