When Jesus was talking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Sychar (modern Nablus), she said to Him, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain” (Jn 4:20). She was referring to Mount Gerizim 2 km (1.2 mi) to the southwest, the center of Samaritan worship since the eighth century BC. After nearly two decades of work, the Samaritan sacred precinct and a later Byzantine church have been laid bare, thanks to the efforts of the Israel Antiquities Authority. Yitzhak Magen, director of the excavations, summarizes the findings in the following article.—Ed.