Khirbat Deir ʻAzziz Ancient synagogue
The Khirbat Deir ʻAzziz Ancient synagogue is a synagogue from the Mishna and Talmud period in the south of the Golan Heights.[1][2]
History[edit]
The synagogue is near an ancient Jewish settelment upon it the abndoned Syrian village of Deir Aziz existed. The remains of the synagogue that is one of two public buildings discovered on the site, were first discovered by Lawrence Oliphant at the end of the 19th century. After 1967 the site was part of a survey conductaed on the Golan Heights.[3] In the 21st century the synagogue was excavated and then restored.[1][4][5]
Archeology[edit]
In 1998 an excavation expedition was organized on behalf of the Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archeology at Bar-Ilan University and Kinneret College led by Haim Ben David, Zvi Uri Maoz and Oren Zingboim. Excavations were carried out at the site until 2004.[1] The excavations revealed a rectangular hall (basilica) measuring 11 meters by 18 meters, with a pile of ashlar stones, which according to information originate from the synagogue that was destroyed in the 749 CE earthquake.[2] Under the floor of the hall, hundreds of coins were found, the latest of which date from the time of Justinian I, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (second quarter of the 6th century AD).[2] In the southern wall of the hall there is a prominent niche for the Torah ark.[4] Further more a Menorah and an Atarah (Hebrew word meaning "crown") were found engraved on a stone[4]
On one of the windows of the synagogue is the inscription in Greek: ΑΖΙΖΟ, indicating that there is a possibility that the name "Aziz" is related to the original name of the Talmudic settlement in the place.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d "גיליון 123 לשנת 2011דיר עזיז". www.hadashot-esi.org.il. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ a b c "אתר הסקר הארכיאולוגי של ישראל". survey.antiquities.org.il. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ "יהודה, שומרון וגולן : סקר ארכיאולוגי בשנת תשכ"ח / מאת קליר אפשטיין, פ' בר-אדון, ש' גוטמן [ועוד] ; העורך – משה כוכבי | Kochavi, Moshe | Kochavi, Moshe ;Bar-Adon, Pesah, 1907–1985;אפשטין, קלר, 1911–2000 ;ha-Agudah le-seḳer arkheʼologi shel Yiśraʼel | הספרייה הלאומית". www.nli.org.il (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ a b c Tepper, Yotam. "Tepper, Y., and Tepper, Yi. 2021. A Seven-Branched Menorah and Crown(?) on a Lintel from Khirbat Deir ʻAzziz. New Studies in the Archaeology of Northern Israel. IAA. Pp. 93–104 (Hebrew)".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "גיליון 126 לשנת 2014אום אל-קנטיר, שטח A – המעיין". www.hadashot-esi.org.il. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ "מראי מקום". יד יצחק בן־צבי (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2024-04-03.