In 2017, it is planned to start archaeological work in the small Israeli city of Kiryat Ye'arim, which is known for the fact that, according to the Bible, the Ark of the Covenant was kept in this place for twenty years.
The ancient city is mentioned in the books of Joshua and the 1st Book of Kings. In total, the Bible contains more than a dozen references to Kiryat Ye'arim dating back to the reign of the Israelite Judges and King David. From the point of view of archaeological science, this time belongs to the Iron Age.
Scientists suggest that the oldest settlement was located near the modern town of Abu Gosh - 10 kilometers west of Jerusalem, on the slopes of the hill on which the Benedictine monastery of Deir El-Azar is located today.
The excavations will be led by a French-Israeli team of researchers: Tel Aviv University employee Israel Finkelstein and Christophe Nicolle and Thomas Römer - representatives of the "Collège de France" (fr. Le Collège de France), -research institution based in Paris.
This location is important for several reasons. It is a large area in the central Jerusalem Hills that has never been explored before. [Kiryat Ye'arim] may be the only site of key importance in Judea where no systematic archaeological excavation has taken place.
The excavations are reported to be centered around a monastery built on the ruins of an earlier Byzantine church. I. Finkelstein suggested that most of the ancient ruins have survived to our time in relative safety.
Kiryat Yearim is mentioned in various places in the Bible as a place of ancient religious importance for local residents. In the book of Joshua, he appears under the names Kiryat Baal, Kiryat Baal, or Baal of the Jews. It is assumed that the cult of Baal was widespread in these places, and one of the pagan sanctuaries dedicated to this god was located in Kiryat Ye'arim.
According to the Book of Samuel, after the Philistines, who captured the Ark of the Covenant during the battle with the Israelites, were stricken with illness, they returned the Jewish shrine, and for 20 years the Ark was kept in Kiryat Ye'arim. The shrine was kept in the house of Aminadav. The Bible describes these events as follows: “And the inhabitants of Kiriath-Jarim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it to the house of Aminadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord. Much time has passed since the day the ark was left in Kiriath-Jarim”(1 Samuel 7: 1-2).
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The second Book of Kings tells how the Ark was transported to Jerusalem: "And David and all the people got up and went … to carry the ark of God from there … And they put the ark of God on a new chariot and took it out of the house of Aminadab …" (2 Samuel 6:23).
Modern Kiryat Ye'arim is a small city with a population (about 4 thousand people) made up of ultra-Orthodox Jews. In the nearby village of Abu Gosh, in the first half of the 12th century, the crusaders erected the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord. They associated this place with the gospel Emmaus, which is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.