Northern synagogue Complete
ID: 121
Building type: basilical synagogue
Context:
urban
Site:
Tiberias
Description:
Probably erected in the later part of Late Antiquity, most likely in the sixth century on the basis of its mosaics and epigraphy, this synagogue underwent alterations after the 749 CE earthquake and was eventually buried beneath massive eleventh‑century fortifications belonging to the Crusader town. Although some of the inscriptions have been paleographically assigned as early as the third century CE, in this context they are cautiously attributed to the broader Late Antique span (third–seventh centuries), with the building’s origin seemingly closer to the end of that period. In plan, the structure was nearly square, measuring about 20 meters on each side. Its longitudinal axis ran north–south, oriented toward Jerusalem. A single doorway, roughly 2 meters wide, pierced the center of the northern wall. Inside, two parallel colonnades partitioned the prayer hall into three zones. The western sector yielded three polychrome mosaic panels. The central panel carried a Greek dedicatory text naming Procolus, son of Crispus—likely either the craftsman responsible for the mosaic or a benefactor. This inscription was framed by conventional Jewish motifs, including lulavs and etrogs. In a later phase following the mid‑eighth‑century earthquake, additional walls were introduced and, at least in the central part of the hall, the mosaic pavement was replaced by stone paving. Excavated remains point to a richly appointed interior. Finds include broken roof tiles and pieces of stucco, as well as a marble plaque decorated with grape and leaf designs. The latter originally formed part of a chancel screen delineating the area of the bema and the Holy Ark. In the vicinity of the synagogue, a house with a mikveh was uncovered; this belonged to the northern residential quarter of Byzantine Tiberias. Seven inscriptions are documented. Two Greek texts are available at: - https://library.brown.edu/iip/viewinscr/tibr0001/ - https://library.brown.edu/iip/viewinscr/tibr0002/ Five Jewish Palestinian Aramaic texts are published in: K. Beyer, 1984, Die aramäischen Texte vom Toten Meer: samt den Inschriften aus Palästina, dem Testament Levis aus der Kairoer Genisa, der Fastenrolle und den alten Talmudischen Zitaten, Göttingen, 394–395 (ggTI 1–4); and in J. Naveh, 1978, On Stone and Mosaic: The Aramaic and Hebrew Inscriptions from Ancient Synagogues, Tel Aviv, 24, 23, 22, 25. See also K. Beyer, 1994, Die aramäischen Texte vom Toten Meer. Ergänzungsband: Samt den Inschriften aus Palästina, dem Testament Levis aus der Kairoer Genisa, der Fastenrolle und den alten Talmudischen Zitaten, Göttingen, 257–258 (ggTI 5). Plan of the building: Y. Hirschfeld, G. Foerster, F. Vitto, “Tiberias,” in E. Stern (ed.), The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 4, p. 1468. Further reading: - Y. Hirschfeld, G. Foerster, F. Vitto, “Tiberias,” in E. Stern (ed.), The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, vol. 4, pp. 1468–1469. - D. W. Milson, 2007, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Late Antique Palestine: In the Shadow of the Church, Leiden, 469–470. - https://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/tiberias/