I just read about the discovery of a temple at Beth-Shemesh in
Israel, dated to the 11th century B.C. (see the link below).
This got my attention right away because (1) Beth-Shemesh was a
border town in Old Testament times, between the Israelites and
Philistines, (2) the 11th century B.C. was the time of the last
judges and King Saul, and (3) a story from the Old Testament
took place in Beth-Shemesh, right at that time. According to 1
Samuel 4-6, the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant in
a battle, but after a wave of plagues hit the cities where the
Ark was kept, they decided to return it. To find out if God was
behind the plagues, they loaded the Ark on an ox-cart, and sent
it off without a driver, to see if the oxen would take it to
Israel. They did, and when the cart reached Beth-Shemesh, the
locals rejoiced and made a sacrifice of the oxen, until a number
of them were struck dead for not handling the Ark properly. Then
the Ark was sent to another town, Kiriath-Jearim, and because
nobody there wa