Tell Qasile; Tel Qasile; Ramat Aviv Complete

Description

Debate over the function of a mosaic-floored structure uncovered in 1975 at Tell Qasile—adjacent to the entrance of the Eretz Israel Museum in Ramat Aviv, within modern Tel Aviv—has continued since its discovery. H. Kaplan’s early publications (1978; 1979) proposed that the remains constituted a Samaritan Christian church, an interpretation that has met persistent and substantial criticism. Subsequent scholarship has generally preferred to identify the building as a synagogue exhibiting Samaritan influence, a view advanced by, among others, Macuch, Pummer, Safrai, Naveh, and Tsafrir. The complex lay on the periphery of the ancient settlement rather than at its center. Further reading: Milson, D.W. 2007. Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Late Antique Palestine. In the Shadow of the Church, Leiden, 454-455. CIIP III 2166-2168 https://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/tel-qasile/ Kaplan, H. 1978. "A Samaritian Church on the Premises of "Museum Haaretz"", Qadmoniot 42-43: 78-80 (Hebrew). Kaplan, H. 1979. "On the Samaritan Church at Tell Qasile - Reply to Zeev Safrai" Qadmoniot 45, 1979: 30-32 (Hebrew). Macuch, R. 1985 "New interpretation of the Samaritan inscription from Tel Qasile", Israel Exploration Journal 35: 183-185. Pummer, R. 1999. Samaritan Synagogues and Jewish Synagogues: Similarities and differences [in:] Steven Fine (ed.) Jews, Christians, and Polytheists in the Ancient Synagogue: Cultural Interaction during the Greco-Roman Period. Baltimore Studies in the History of Judaism. London and New York, pp. 118-160. Safrai, Z., 1978. "Was there a Samaritan Church at Tell Qasile?" Qadmoniot 44: 129 (Hebrew). Tal, O. and Taxel, I. 2015. "Tell Qasile: The Foundation Layer of the Samaritan Synagogue" in Samaritan Cemeteries and Tombs in the Central Coastal Plain. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, p. 209-212. Tsafrir, Y. 1981. "A new reading of the Samaritan inscription from Tell Qasile" Israel Exploration Journal 31, 223-226.