Synagogue Beit Alfa

32 31 '09 "N 35 25' 36" E / 32.519122, 35.426803

The synagogue of Beth Alpha is an archaeological site in Israel near Kibbutz Beit Alfa. It contains the remains of a synagogue from the Byzantine period. The site was made famous because of its mosaics that reflect the lives of Jews in Eretz Israel during the centuries that followed the destruction of the Second Temple during the Great Revolt against the Romans. It is part of the national parks of Israel.

Summary 1 Description 2 Identification 3 Notes and references 4 See also 4.1 Article Related 4.2 Bibliography External 4.3 Links

/ / Description

The remains of the synagogue were discovered in 1928 during the digging of a water pipeline to feed the kibbutz Heftsibah located at the foot of Mount Gilboa. The excavations were undertaken by a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the leadership of Professor Eleazar Sukenik.

The synagogue dates from the ^fifth and ^sixth centuries. It was destroyed in an earthquake in 749 or sooner. She was named after the Kibbutz Beit Alfa, whose name comes from the oldest settlement ruins, even if it is on the grounds of Kibbutz Heftsibah.

The parts of the building that collapsed on the ground have allowed the preservation of the mosaic. On the site of the synagogue, it was discovered the evidence of the existence of an older building on which the synagogue was built in the ^sixth century.

The synagogue was built in the style of a basilica of 27.7 m by 14.2 m. It is not completely symmetrical. Columns divided the central space into three rooms elongated. At its end, there is an apse destiny, it seems to contain the Holy Ark.

The mosaics are composed entirely of figurative images in the central part, very well preserved, and geometric shapes in different parts of the building and remaining partially in the right room, that is to say the east side and in the narthex. The mosaic includes registration, a little damaged, which can identify the artists: a father and son bearing the names and Marianus Hanina. These names also appear on the mosaic of the ancient synagogue of Beit Shean. The inscription dates the mosaic of the reign of Emperor Justinian. Sukenik was assumed that the mosaic dating from Justinian I , but other researchers suggest that the inscription refers to the emperor rather Justinian II.

Identification

The identification of the building as synagogue was questioned by D. Landau.

References