SILO (Hebr. Šilō or Šilōh, Gr. Σηλώ, Σηλών). — An ancient locality of Palestine in the tribe of Ephraim, corresponding, according to the biblical indications (Iudc. 21, 19), to present-day Hirbet Sejlūn, 5 km south of Lubbān, 40 km north of Jerusalem, on the road to Nābulus.
Conquered by the Hebrews, it became the center of the activity of Giosuè and of the assemblies of Israel (Ios. 18, 8-10; 19,51; 21,2; 22,9-12). The presence of the Ark and the Tabernacle made S. a destination for pilgrimages (I Sam. 1,4); on the occasion of an annual feast, the Benjaminites abducted the dancing girls (Iudc. 21, 13-23). After the Ark fell into the power of the Philistines and the Sanctuary where the priest Eli had received the child Samuel was destroyed (I Sam. 4; Ier. 7,12; 26,16; Ps. 38,60), the city gradually lost its original importance, although it was still inhabited (I Reg. 11,29). It regained its splendor in the Seleucid period, lasting until the Byzantine era; Christians, Jews, and Muslims venerated its sacred memories until the 14th century.
The archaeological excavations undertaken by a Danish society in several campaigns from 1922 to 1932 brought to light the various historical phases of the city. Already occupied during the Middle Bronze Age, it enjoyed great prosperity until the Iron Age (13th–10th centuries B.C.). After this period, the archaeological material became scarce, corresponding to the state of semi-abandonment in which the city was left after the victory of the Philistines. The Hellenistic revival is attested by abundant pottery, by a villa with a bath, by the circuit of the walls, and by the necropolis cut into the rock along the road to 'Ajn Sejlūn. The flourishing Christian period is represented by a three-naved basilica from the 5th century and by another small church with figured mosaics and inscriptions. In the dilapidated mosque of el-'Arba'in, there is a lintel carved with Hebrew ornamentation, which likewise indicates the presence of an ancient synagogue.