Shiloh Favissa Study Reexamines Ritual Deposition in the Late Bronze Age

What Is a Favissa?

In archaeological terminology, a favissa is a controlled deposit of objects—often broken pottery, animal remains, or disused cult items—that was deliberately buried or stored in a pit or chamber. Ancient peoples used favissae for various purposes: to dispose of worn-out sacred objects, to make ritual deposits as part of temple maintenance, or to perform ceremonial burials of sacred materials.

Archaeological study of favissae can illuminate ritual practice, cult organization, and the uses of sacred space, though such deposits require careful interpretation. The objects themselves are material evidence; what they meant to the people who deposited them is a scholarly interpretation built upon this evidence.

The Archaeological Assemblage from Area D

In a 2026 peer-reviewed article, Jordan McClinton, Jonathan E. Moore, and Scott Stripling report on the Shiloh favissa excavated in Area D. The authors describe an assemblage including:

• ash layers suggesting ritual burning or destruction;
• approximately 10,000 animal bones from species regarded in the study as clean according to Levitical categories;
• cultic vessels and pottery types common to sacred contexts;
• ceramic stands used in ritual or cultic practice;
• eight gold and silver objects of high intrinsic and symbolic value;
• stratigraphic evidence placing the deposit in the Late Bronze Age II horizon;
• radiocarbon evidence contributing to chronological assessment.

The authors examine ceramic typology, stratigraphic context, and the composition of the animal assemblage to argue that this deposit represents a structured ritual deposition rather than a random accumulation of debris.

Evidence Versus Interpretation at Biblical Shiloh

The study's title includes a significant interpretive claim: "Israel's Only Levitically Sanctioned Cultic Deposit." This phrase represents the authors' scholarly interpretation of the evidence. It is crucial to distinguish between:

• Evidence: animal bones, pottery types, stratigraphic position, radiocarbon dates;
• Interpretation: the claim that the deposit was "Levitically sanctioned" or specifically authoritative in biblical terms.

The authors argue for a connection with early Israelite sacred deposition and present this as one scholarly reading of the material evidence. However, the archaeological record alone does not establish the historicity of specific biblical narratives or prove that this deposit was "Levitically sanctioned" in any way that modern scholarship can determine. The interpretation requires scholarly judgment and remains open to alternative scholarly readings.

Ritual Archaeology at EHJ 2026

The excavations at Shiloh have produced multiple findings relevant to understanding ritual practice at biblical Shiloh. On 10 November 2026 at 22:00 CET, Jordan McClinton will present "Ritual Deposits at Biblical Shiloh: New Archaeological Perspectives from Area D" at the European Hebrew Journal International Scholarly Online Zoom Conference. This presentation will allow scholars and participants to engage directly with recent archaeological findings and their interpretations.