Ancient synagogue (Anim)
Encyclopedia
The Anim Synagogue, located 19km south of Hebron
in the Yatir Forest
, Israel
, was an ancient Palestinian synagogue
in use during the 4th–7th centuries CE.
-Byzantine
period.
The synagogue was discovered during an excavation conducted in 1987. It consists of a rectangular prayer hall orientated towards Jerusalem measuring 14.5 m (48 ft) by 8.5 m (28 ft), an entrance portico and a courtyard with rooms on both sides. Hewn stone walls still stand to a height of 3.5 m (11 ft) and two entrances on the east side survive with their lintels intact. Evidence of a mosaic floor was found beneath the current stone slab flooring and fragments of an inscription remain. The building functioned as a synagogue until the seventh or eighth century when it was turned into a mosque.
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
in the Yatir Forest
Yatir Forest
Yatir Forest is a forest in Israel, located on the southern slopes of Mount Hebron, on the edge of the Negev Desert. The forest covers an area of 30,000 dunams , and is the largest planted forest in Israel.-History:...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, was an ancient Palestinian synagogue
Palestinian synagogues
Palestinian synagogues refers to synagogues which existed in ancient Palestine from antiquity up till the beginning of the Middle Ages.Most date from the Roman and Byzantine periods, from the third to seventh centuries, and relatively few synagogues have been found in from before the destruction of...
in use during the 4th–7th centuries CE.
History
The synagogue is located at an ancient site identified with the 'Anim mentioned in the Bible . It is also believed to be the site of the large Jewish village of Anaia during the RomanRoman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
-Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
period.
The synagogue was discovered during an excavation conducted in 1987. It consists of a rectangular prayer hall orientated towards Jerusalem measuring 14.5 m (48 ft) by 8.5 m (28 ft), an entrance portico and a courtyard with rooms on both sides. Hewn stone walls still stand to a height of 3.5 m (11 ft) and two entrances on the east side survive with their lintels intact. Evidence of a mosaic floor was found beneath the current stone slab flooring and fragments of an inscription remain. The building functioned as a synagogue until the seventh or eighth century when it was turned into a mosque.
External links
- The Design of the Ancient synagogues in Judea: Horvat Ma’on and Horvat ‘Anim, by D. Chen & D. Milson.