U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, came for a special working tour of the ancient Shiloh site in Binyamin and joined the archaeological dig being conducted there.
Huckabee, who has visited the area many times since taking office, went down to the excavation area near where the Tabernacle once stood and assisted the archaeologists in searching for finds.
A few days earlier, three ancient jars were uncovered in the same area that were used in antiquity to store wine, oil and agricultural produce.
On his previous visit to the area several months ago, Huckabee's grandchildren, who toured a hiding cave in Binyamin, found coins from the Bar Kokhba revolt. Now the ambassador himself took part in uncovering finds at the site.
During the tour, the new finds that had been transferred for study and restoration at the local laboratory were shown to the ambassador. Dr. Scott Stripling, head of the excavation team at ancient Shiloh, explained that researchers succeeded in identifying the contents of the ancient jars.
Dr. Stripling explained, "We brought the vessels from the field, washed them and analyzed the residues, and now we know exactly what they contained. In one jar we found 500 olives, in the second lentils and in the third wheat. This is tangible evidence of daily nutrition in the biblical world."
Huckabee said, "It may look like just a broken potsherd, but it is also a record of history. It is a reminder that while you can break a pottery vessel, these people are going to put it back together. There have been so many attempts over hundreds of years to break Israel, to break the Jewish people, but God will restore it. And He is already doing it; we are seeing it before our eyes, reconnecting this land and this people."
Yisrael Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, who accompanied the visit, welcomed the ambassador and said, "I am happy to host U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee here again. You are long since not only a guest but part of the family with us. A few months ago your grandchildren found coins here, and today you continue the tradition, going down to the dig and helping us search for ancient finds near the Tabernacle site."
Gantz added, "The jars found here are not museum items, they are living evidence of the lives that were here. In the face of political changes and international agreements around the world, our real answer is establishing solid sovereign facts on the ground. When the U.S. ambassador comes here to help, to expose history himself and to strengthen practical activity on the ground, he clarifies that the American commitment to our roots is the strongest anchor that will survive any political upheaval. No one will ever erase our deep roots in this land, and we thank you and the American people who choose to stand again and again - not just in words but in deeds and in support of our sovereignty - alongside the truth, the history, and the right of the Jewish people to their land."