A Samaritan archaeological site

A SAMARITAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE is in the news:

Samaritans seek opening of holy site found in IDF dig

By Chaim Levinson (Haaretz)

At the peak of Mount Gerizim in the West Bank is a fenced-off archeological site, where a dig conducted under the auspices of the Israel Defense Forces Civil Administration recently uncovered a well-preserved 2,000-year-old city, once home to 10,000 people.

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Benny Katzover, who served for many years as head of the Samaria Regional Council, said the excavations began in an effort to find what the Samarians regard as their Holy Temple. Katzover said the ancient historian Joseph Flavius explained that, following disputes with the Jews, the Samaritans moved their spiritual center to Mount Gerizim, near what is now the West Bank city of Nablus, and built their temple on a scope identical to the one in Jerusalem.

"The finds," he said, "reveal a high standard of living, including baths and ceramic tile and heating and mosaics... You can see that it was the capital of a whole kingdom."

Preparations were made to open the site to the public, including a lookout point facing Nablus and the site of the ancient city of Shechem, along with signage explaining the finds. With the outbreak of the second intifada in 2000, the plans were shelved, but with the improved security situation the Samaria Regional Council and the Samaritan community have been pressing for the public to be given access to the site.

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