The Israelite Palace

An Israelite Chalice cult

During the reign of the last king of the northern kingdom-Hoshea, the Assyrians invaded in 722/721 B.C. (initially under Shalmaneser V and finally under Sargon II) when they established complete control over the capital city and the remainder of the northern kingdom. In addition, the inhabitants of Samaria were deported to Assyria. New inhabitants were brought in (from Cuthah and the Syro-Mesopotamian area) and they formed a new Samaritan population, also known as Cuthim. The city together with the neighboring highland area became known as Samerina and was ruled by an Assyrian governor. There are only meager remains from the succeeding Babylonian period and it was only in the Persian period, in the mid 5th century, that the city reemerged in importance. 

An Israelite Jug – Iron Age II

Samaria became a Hellenistic town in 332 B.C. and thousands of Macedonian soldiers were settled there following a revolt by the Samaritans. Three round towers dating to that period have been excavated  and a later, massive, fortification wall with square towers. These fortifications were breached during the destruction of the city by John Hyrcanus in 108 B.C. Traces of the destruction wrought by Hyrcanus were found by the excavators, but the city was apparently resettled under Alexander Yannai.

The Hellenistic Tower

In 63 B.C. Samaria was annexed to the Roman province of Syria. In 30 B.C. the emperor Augustus awarded the city to Herod the Great who renamed it Sebaste in honor of Augustus (“Sebaste” is the feminine form of Gr. Sebastos = Augustus).

The Roman Wall

The Colonnaded Street

A Roman Silver Denarius

The Basilica

A Roman Lead Weight

The Roman Theater

The Augusteum

consisting of a temple and a large forecourt built over the Omride palace at the summit of the acropolis.

The city was rebuilt without any major changes in the 2nd century A.D. by Septimius Severus when the city was established as a colony. Samaria has been associated with John the Baptist, whose body was believed to be buried there.

The Byzantine Church

A Byzantine Oil-Lamp

Town in Samaria between Mount Grizim and Mount Ebal. Shechem had been a Canaanite settlement, mentioned on an Egyptian stele of a noble at the court of Senusret III (c. 1880–1840 BC) and in the Amarna Letters of about 1350 BC (Shachmu).

At Shechem, Abram “built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him … and had given that land to his descendants” (Gen 12:6-7). This Biblical account, considered by some to be the first place Abram stopped when Abraham, Sarah, Lot and their party entered Canaan. The Bible states that on this occasion, God confirmed the covenant he had first made with Abraham in Ur, regarding the possession of the land of Canaan. On a later sojourn, the sons of Jacob avenged their sister’s rape by massacring the city’s inhabitants. Joshua assembled the Israelites in Shechem and encouraged them to reaffirm their adherence to the Torah.

Shechem

The body of Joseph (son of Jacob) was buried in Shechem after it was returned from Egypt (Joshua 24,32).

Joseph’s Tomb

After the division of the Kingdoms Jeroboam made it his capital. When the kings of Israel moved first to Tirzah, and later on to Samaria, Shechem lost its importance, and we do not hear of it until after the fall of Jerusalem  at 587 B.C.

After the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, the Assyrian king settled exiled Samaritans and Gentiles there. When the Assyrians deported most of the citizens of the Northern Kingdom in the seventh century B.C., they repopulated the Northern Kingdom with people who did not know the God of Abraham. The people living in the region subsequently, part Jew, part Gentile, came to be known as Samaritans (from the name of Omri’s former capital, Samaria). Over the years, this mixed people developed a Pentateuch-based religion, with worship centered at Mount Gerizim. In the fourth century B.C., with the authorization of the Persians, the Samaritans built a temple on Mount Gerizim. It was destroyed, however, by John Hyrcanus in 107 B.C. when he took nearby Shechem and the surrounding territory.

Mount Gerizim

The Hellenistic Period

An Hellenistic Figurine

Wine Press

A Glass Flask

Olive Press-1

Olive Press – 2

Vespasianus razed the ancient town to the ground and built a new town between Mount Grizim and Mount Ebal (the site of the present town), from whose Latin name Neapolis the Arab name Nablus derives.

A Roman Coin – with Mount Gerizim and the Temple on the top.

Afterwards it fell to the Byzantines and the Crusaders, and subsequently to the Arabs.

The Byzantine Fortress

A Byzantin Cross Pendant

The northern Gate

A Samaritan Oil-Lamp

The Byzantine Basilica

The site of ancient Shiloh, a city in the Ephraim hill-country and the amphictyonic capital of Israel in the time of the Judges, is situated north of Beth-El, east of the Beth El-Shechem highway (Judg. 21:19). Shiloh is mentioned in the Bible as an assembly place for the people of Israel where there was a sanctuary (Tabernacle-Mishkan) containing the Ark of the Covenant until it was taken by the Philistines. The Tabernacle rested at Shiloh for 369 years.

On the northern platau extension of the tel , stood, in all probability, the Tabernacle during the period of the Israelite settlement and the Judges. It was built with stone walls and its roof was covered with skins.

The Tabernacle Place

Shiloh was the center of Israelite worship. During one religious celebration, the daughters of the city danced in the vineyards, an occasion used by the Benjamites, who could not get wives in any way except by abducting them (see Judg. 21).

Archaeological excavations have shown that the place was already settled in about the 19th-18th centuries B.C. (Middle Bronze Age); however, it is not mentioned in any pre-biblical source. There is a tel and many impressive remains from the Caananite and Israelite eras, until the 8th century B.C. During the following 12 centuries Shiloh is solely noted as a station on sojourners’ routes, usually having only its religious-historical significance to offer.

Wine/Grapes  Press

A  Judaea Amphora found in the Holy-land

For more Details click on the image

The Christian Period

 St. Jerome, in his letter to Paula and Eustochius, dated about 392-393, writes: “With Christ at our side we shall pass through Shiloh and Bethel ” (Ep.46,13, PL 22, 492).  Shiloh assumed messianic attachment amongst Christians due to the verse (Genesis 49:10) – “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Shiloh was taken to refer to Jesus.

Byzantine Basilicas (~ 600 A.D.)

The Mosaic floor

A Byzantine Bronze Follis

The Byzantine Basilicas ( ~400 A.D.)

The structure discovered recently lies under a Muslim free-standing structure known as Walli Yetaim.

The Mosaic floor

The mosaic contains geometric designs, a cross, flora representations and three inscriptions, one, a dedication of a bench, the second, a salute to the residents of Seilun and the third, a general wish for good tidings.

The Greek Inscription - “salute to the residents of Seilun “

Baptism Place

A Byzantine Bronze Cross

The Moslem Period

In 638 the Moslems conquered the area. Moslem pilgrims to Shiloh mention a mosque called es-Sekineh where the memory of Jacob’s and Joseph’s deeds was revered.

The Moslem Mosque

Shalom for all.

David