Archaeologists have made a surprising new discovery surrounding the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.

A team of archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Shiloh in the West Bank has uncovered a stone structure they believe may have been the biblical Tabernacle, the sacred sanctuary that, according to scripture, once housed the Ark of the Covenant. The excavation, led by Dr. Scott Stripling and his team at the ancient archaeological site of Shiloh, has found stone ruins that appear to align closely with the descriptions found in the Hebrew Bible. The building’s dimensions, orientation, and layout reportedly seem to reflect the proportions of the Tabernacle described in the Book of Exodus.

Dr Scott Stripling, director of the Tel Shiloh excavations, said: “We’ve uncovered a monumental building from the Iron I period that matches the biblical dimensions of the Tabernacle. The structure is oriented east-west and divided in a 2:1 ratio, just as described in scripture.”

According to scripture, the Tabernacle was a portable sanctuary that served as the dwelling place of God during the Israelites’ journey through the desert.

It was believed to house the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred chest made of wood and covered in gold. Inside the Ark were the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, which Moses received on Mount Sinai.

Built by the Israelites around the 13th century BC, the Ark remains one of the most iconic and mysterious objects in biblical history.

Some believe it is in Ethiopia at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum, while others suggest it was hidden in Jerusalem or concealed in a cave in the Dumghe Mountains by the Lemba people in Southern Africa and Zimbabwe.

Researchers have also found more than 100,000 animal bones, mostly from sheep, goats, and cattle, at the excavation site in Shiloh.

Many of the bones came from the animals’ right sides, a detail that reportedly matches Leviticus law, where the right side was set aside for sacred offerings.

This has led some experts to believe the site was used for religious rituals.

Dr Stripling told The Christian Broadcasting Network: “This isn’t a coincidence. The evidence of sacrificial rituals here is overwhelming, and it matches the biblical account to a degree that’s hard to ignore.”