A synagogue fromthe Second Temple period (50 BCE-100 CE) was exposed in archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) is conducting at a site slated for the construction of a hotel on Migdal beach.

In the middle of the synagogue is a stone that is engraved with a seven-branched menorah (candelabrum), the likes of which have never before been seen.

The main hall of the synagogue is 120 square metres in area and its stone benches, which served as seats for the worshippers, were built up against the walls of the hall. Its fl oor was made of mosaic and its walls were treated with colored plaster frescos.

A square stone, the top and four sides of which are adorned with reliefs, was discovered in the hall. The stone is engraved with a seven-branched menorah.

According to the excavation director, Dina Avshalom-Gorni of the IAA, “We are dealing with an exciting and unique find. This is the first time that a menorah decoration has been discovered from the days when the Second Temple was still standing.

This is the first menorah to be discovered in a Jewish context and that dates to the Second Temple period/beginning of the Early Roman period. We can assume that the engraving that appears on the stone, which the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered, was done by an artist who saw the seven-branched menorah with his own eyes in the Temple in Jerusalem. The synagogue that was uncovered joins just six other synagogues in the world that are known to date to the Second Temple period”.

The company developing the site intends to establish a center of dialogue and respect between the different religions and cultures and expects to attract tourists and visitors from Israel and from around the world to visit the centre and view the finding.

The synagogue is located in Migdal (‘Magdala’ in Aramaic), which is mentioned in Jewish sources. Migdal played an important role during the Great Revolt and was actually the main base of Yosef Ben Matityahu (Josephus Flavius), commander of the rebellion in the Galilee. Migdal also continued to resist the Romans after both the Galilee and Tiberias had surrendered.

'Magdala’ is mentioned in Christian sources as the place whence Mary Magdalene came, one of the women who accompanied Jesus and the apostles and who Christian tradition has sanctified. After it was conquered by the Romans, the city was destroyed and many of its residents were killed. At the end of the Second Temple period Migdal was an administrative center of the western basin of the Sea of Galilee. Until the founding of Tiberias in the year 19 CE, Migdal was the only important settlement along the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

The site is currently closed to visitors and will be opened to= the public in the future.

Supplied by Israel Ministry of Tourism

_{(Issue November 2009)}