Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Late-antique synagogue excavated in Turkey

ANCIENT ARCHITECTURE: Excavations reveal ancient synagogue in Turkish town near tourist hotspot. Excavations reveal ancient synagogue in Turkish town near tourist hotspot of Antalya. Synagogue dates back to 7th century (David I. Klein, JTA via Arutz Sheva).
The synagogue was found recently in the town of Side, not far from the tourist hotspot of Antalya, in southern Turkey.

Among the remains was a plaque with a menorah motif and an inscription in Hebrew and Greek stating that it was donated by a father in honor of a son who passed away at a young age. The plaque ends with the Hebrew word “Shalom.”

In 2009 there was a report of the discovery of another synagogue, dating to the third century CE, in the same region. According to Acts 13:13-15, there was a Jewish community with a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, near Pamphylia (in Antalya Province) in the first century CE.

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