The concept that this find is indeed part of the Ark of the Covenant tale is littered with issues.įirstly, the bible states the table was in a field and not in a temple. This tale from the Old Testament is retold and dramatised in cinematic fashion via the Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark, which sees the faces of the poor souls peering into the Ark melt.Īfter its stint in Beth Shemesh, the Ark then went to King David in Jerusalem after a 20 year detour via Kiriath Yearim. 'But soon we realised that it was meant to be a table.'Īccording to the first book of Samuel, Beth Shemesh natives then peered inside the Ark and were struck down with lightning from God as punishment. Massebah were standing stones used in the Levant as part of cult rituals. 'At the beginning we thought it was a massebah that had fallen over,' Lederman says.Īccording to the Bible, people who looked inside the Ark were struck down by God via lightning, This scene is fictionalised in the 1981 Harrison Ford film, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the faces of people looking inside melt (pictured) The reason for such hostilities could be the alleged table found deep inside the temple.įirst found last summer, six years after the excavation started at the site, the square slab was found lying on two smaller rocks. It was often a flashpoint for conflict and between the vying religious factions. There is no evidence linking the nearby Philistines - whose settlement of Tel Batash was just seven km away - as the culprits of the destruction, but the researchers believe them to be prime candidates, according to their interview with Haartz.īeth Shemesh was a border town in pre-monarchic Israel sandwiched awkwardly between the Israelites and the Philistines. 'To me this is an act of hostility, an intentional desecration of a holy place.' 'Very shortly after it was destroyed, the entire place was turned into an animal pen,' Dr Zvi Lederman, a Tel Aviv University archaeologist who led the project, tells Haaretz. The holy place of worship was plundered and destroyed in the mid-12th century BC and covered in animal dung. 'When you look at the structure and its content, it's very clear that this not a standard domestic space but something special,' Professor Bunimovitz added. The relic was 28 feet (8.5 meters) long on each side and perfectly square. 'There is a lot of evidence that this was indeed a temple,' Professor Shlomo Bunimovitz, the archaeologist leading the dig, told Haaretz. The speculations go further, stating that two large round concave stones with carved gutters may have been used for libations of wine or for creating sacred wine from olives.įragments of animal bone, pottery and cups indicate rituals were performed at the site. It is believed the 12th century BC building is a temple due to the fact it was separated from most of the buildings, had sturdier walls and faced the rising sun. The Ark of the Covenant has been sought for centuries by archaeologists, a search made famous by the fictional 1981 Steven Spielberg film Raiders of the Lost Ark, starring Harrison Ford (pictured, right)Īcademics researching the discovery of the 'large stone' believe the 1,100 years between its existence and the time of Moses is evidence of biblical history dating back further than most experts previously believed. The Ark of the Covenant has been sought for centuries by archaeologists, a search made famous by the fictional 1981 Steven Spielberg film Raiders of the Lost Ark. It was used to hold up the Ark after it arrived at Beth Shemesh when it had returned to Israeli hands from the Philistines.Įxcavations of the 12th century BC temple reveal it was subsequently plundered and 'intentionally desecrated' by the nearby Philistines who turned it into an animal pen. They also preach that the Ark rested on a square table and this latest find is being hailed as merging biblical teachings with archaeological evidence.Īrchaeologists say it is strikingly similar to the mythical 'large stone' described in the First Book of Samuel. Religious teachings claim that the Ark contained the Ten Commandments received by Moses on Mount Sinai. The biblical claim was made by researchers from Tel Aviv University who found a 3,100-year-old temple near the modern-day town of Beit Shemesh. Religious archaeologists in Israel claim they have discovered the stone on which Ark of Covenant once sat.
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