Archaeologists To Unearth Biblical Site That Held The Lord's Ark Of The Covenant

Archaeologists in Israel are planning to excavate an unstudied Biblical site where the Ark of the Covenant was kept for 20 years.

Times of Israel reported that Israeli and French archaeologists are set to unearth a site called Kiryat Ye'arim (Kiriath Jearim), a Judean town where the Ark of the Covenant was placed for two decades before King David relocated it in Jerusalem. The Biblical site is among the few locations left untouched by archeologists and they are hoping to discover significant historical information when they start their dig this summer.

"The place is important for several reasons," Israel Finkelstein, one of the three archeologists heading the project, told Times of Israel. "It's a large, central site in the Jerusalem hills that hasn't been studied until now. It may be the only key site in Judah that hasn't undergone a systematic archaeological excavation."

The Ark of the Covenant was built during the time of Moses in the Book of Exodus. The sacred gold-plated wooden box held the two stone tablets where the 10 Commandments were inscribed after God gave the covenant to Moses at Mount Sinai.

About 400 years later, as written in the Book of Samuel, the sacred ark was captured by the Philistines when the Israelites had to suffer the consequences of worshipping a pagan deity named Ba'al. When the people repented, God struck the Philistines with deadly plagues, causing them to return it.

"So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to care for the ark of the Lord. And from that day the ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a very long time, for it was twenty years [until the reign of King David]; and all the house of Israel lamented (wailed) and grieved after the Lord." - 1 Samuel 7:12 (AMP)

However, the Ark of the Covenant mysteriously vanished around 589-587 BC when the Babylonians destroyed the temple, built by King David's son King Solomon, where it was placed.

While the research team does not intend to find the Biblical treasure, they are still looking forward to what the unearthing may reveal.