War Interrupts Biblical Archaeology - Conflict Stalls Excavation Efforts

Conflict in the Middle East has once again had the unintended effect of stalling efforts to excavate biblical history. Across Israel, digs were canceled when war broke out in mid-June. Though the war between Israel and Iran lasted only 12 days, it came in the middle of the dig season, when weather conditions and schedules align for archaeological work. Scholars and volunteers who had hoped to contribute to our understanding of the world of the Bible found themselves instead ducking into bomb shelters and tracking reports of airport closures.

Impact on Local Excavations

In the Galilee region, James R. Strange, professor of New Testament at Samford University, was hoping to excavate a lot of ancient pottery from Jesus’ time at Tel Shikhin, a small village. However, missiles interrupted his plans. “We had essentially one week,” Strange told CT. “When Israel launched its offensive into Iran and Iran responded, … that made staying untenable.” Strange was convinced it was time to leave when he had to take cover in a bomb shelter across the street from their Nazareth hotel four times in one night. But then Ben Gurion Airport—the main international airport in Israel—closed. Strange and his team ended up making their way to Jordan and flying home from Amman three days later.

Regarding the situation at Tel Shiloh, the Associates for Biblical Research team had an even more circuitous path out of the country. Dig director Scott Stripling called it a “reverse Exodus.” The group woke up in a Jerusalem hotel on June 13. News of war and warnings about imminent attacks were consuming the whole country. Stripling decided they should continue with the last day of their archaeological dig anyway. “The best thing for us to do was to go to work,” he told CT. “I thought, for the spiritual and mental health of our team in the time of crisis, the best thing they can do is to stay in the routine.” When it was time to leave, though, things got a bit complicated. Stripling said the team took a bus to Eilat in the south of Israel, crossed the border to Egypt, took another bus across the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo, and then flew back to the United States.

Canceled Seasons and Travel Restrictions

Americans excavating Caesarea Maritima, one of Israel’s most-visited archaeological sites, also went home after just one week of digging. Furthermore, some archaeologists did not make it to Israel this year because of the military conflict. Wheaton College professor Daniel Master was planning an excavation at Tel Shimron in the Galilee. Lipscomb University archaeologist Steven Ortiz was going to direct a dig at Khirbet Ether. Both men’s flights were canceled. They hope to return to the field in 2026.

As for sites near the borders, the excavation at Abel Beth Maacah was put on hold last year because of the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Dig codirector Robert Mullins from Azusa Pacific University and archaeologist Cynthia Shafer-Elliott from Baylor University could not go this year either. “My university is currently not allowing travel to Israel,” Shafer-Elliott said.

Status of Ongoing Regional Research

However, codirector Nava Panitz-Cohen, from the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, will have some of the team back in the field at Abel Beth Maacah later in the summer. Panitz-Cohen said the dig will proceed with archaeology students from Israeli universities and the international students who stayed in the country through the conflict. Excavations at Hippos, on eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and Hazor, nine miles north of the Sea of Galilee, are expected to continue with majority-Israeli teams.

Some archaeology work in Jordan kept going too. The dig at Khirbet Safra, a site overlooking the Dead Sea, continued uninterrupted. Excavation director Paul Z. Gregor, a professor from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, said the archaeologists “were able to complete our season of excavation as planned” before going home at the end of June. An excavation planned at Abila, the site of a New Testament city located in northern Jordan, just two miles from the Syrian border, was not as lucky. David Vila, professor at John Brown University, saw the Jordanian air force scramble jets to shoot down missiles. “The US bombed Iran, it turns out, about one hour after our flight took off,” Vila said.

Summary of Archaeological Site Status

Site Name	Lead Researcher	Status of Excavation
Tel Shikhin	James R. Strange	Interrupted; team fled via Jordan
Tel Shiloh	Scott Stripling	Completed; team fled via Egypt
Tel Shimron	Daniel Master	Canceled; flights grounded
Khirbet Ether	Steven Ortiz	Canceled; flights grounded
Abel Beth Maacah	Nava Panitz-Cohen	Partial; continuing with local/staying students
Khirbet Safra	Paul Z. Gregor	Completed as planned
Abila	David Vila	Canceled due to security concerns