Synagogue Complete
ID: 111
Building type: basilical synagogue
Context:
urban/rural
Inscriptions:
Description:
Set on a slope within the city center, the synagogue was constructed from locally quarried basalt. Excavation revealed no evidence of an earlier structure beneath it. Access to the prayer hall was from an open, square platform reached by a flight of steps. From this forecourt, three doorways entered the building; the central portal was both taller and wider than the two flanking entrances. Inside, twelve columns arranged in a U-shaped configuration articulated a central nave and three aisles. Benches for the congregation lined the perimeter walls, with the notable exception of the southern wall. A range of architectural fragments recovered in and around the structure allows a partial reconstruction of its decorative program. An architrave rested upon the column capitals, accompanied by an ornamented frieze and cornice. The presence of pedestals and conches indicates windows in the upper zone of the building. The Ark of the Law might have stood between the central doorway and one lateral door (to the west?), while an aedicula was set between the central doorway and the other lateral door (to the east?). The “Seat (Cathedra) of Moses” may have been placed within this aedicula. Such positioning between the entrances accords with arrangements known from the synagogues at Sardis and Meroth. Following damage sustained in the early fourth century, the building underwent repairs and alterations. Milson 2007: p. 337–338 https://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/chorazim/