The love story born among the antiquities of the biblical city
Thousands of years after the daughters of Shiloh would go out on Tu B'Av to find their match, a new love story was born at the site: two American archaeologists who came to uncover the antiquities found the love of their lives there.
In ancient times, as told in the Tanakh, the daughters of Shiloh would go out on Tu B'Av dressed in white and dance in the vineyards to find their match. Thousands of years later, among the ruins of that same ancient Shiloh, another love story was born: two American archaeologists who arrived in Israel to uncover the past of the biblical city found the love of their lives right there.
The excavation season in ancient Shiloh concluded in recent days with a series of impressive findings, including ancient jars and a rare purple shell discovered in a mikveh. But for Clayton Van Hess and his wife, Dr. Abigail Van Hess, two of the excavation expedition leaders, the greatest discovery was not buried in the ground at all.
The two met at the site itself, when Clayton, an archaeology student from the United States and a team leader, worked under the management of Abigail, a co-director of the excavations.
"In the first excavation season, I tried very hard to impress her," he says with a smile. "I was sure I had found an ancient jar and tried to assemble it, even though Abigail said it wasn't a jar. In the end, it turned out to be pieces of ancient toilet paper."
Abigail says that it was his persistence that caught her attention: "He didn't give up, went to investigate, and discovered for himself what it was. I realized he was a great guy."
Two years ago, Clayton decided it was time for the next step. When he asked Abigail where she would like to get married, she did not hesitate for a moment. "In Shiloh, the place where Hannah prayed," she replied. Last year, they were married at the excavation site itself, alongside members of the expedition, while their families in the United States watched the ceremony live.
Even the war did not shake their connection to the place. "I'm not afraid, you just learn to live with it," says Abigail. Clayton says that during the last year they watched missile interceptions over the excavation site, and after their wedding, they were forced to leave Israel via Egypt following the closure of Ben Gurion Airport — a journey they smile and call an "inverse Exodus."
Recently, the two completed another excavation season, and now they are planning their future in Israel. Clayton is expected to continue his studies at Ariel University, and the two are considering settling in the country permanently.
Head of the Binyamin Regional Council and Chairman of the Yesha Council, Israel Gantz, welcomed the relationship formed at the site: "Ancient Shiloh is the place where the Hebrew holiday of love was born. Seeing Clayton and Abigail, who came from the United States to uncover the history of the place and found the love of their lives here as well, is a moving closing of a circle."
For Clayton, even the ancient jars and the rare purple shell do not compare to the true discovery of the excavation. "When they asked me what the most amazing find I discovered in Shiloh was, I had no doubt," he concludes. "Abigail is my most amazing find."
Abigail smiles and replies: "I have been excavating for many years, but I have never found anything better than Clayton."
