50:, carvings made while that Temple still stood and therefore assumed to have been made by an artist who had seen the Temple before it was destroyed by the Roman military. Some archaeologists describe the carvings as enabling a new, scholarly understanding of the synagogue conceptualized as a sacred space even during the period while the Temple was still standing. This new understanding would overturn a long-held scholarly consensus that during the period when the Temple still stood, synagogues were merely assembly and study halls, places where the
205:; it is also carved with images of the Temple. The "Horvat Kur stone", also discovered by Kinneret Regional Project archaeologists, was found in secondary use in the synagogue floor. It is a rectangular table with four short legs, carved out of a block of basalt and weighing about 350 kg (c. 770 pounds), decorated with Jewish symbols like vessels, a ladle, and two candelabra. As of 2021, nine years after its discovery, its initial provenance and exact purpose and significance could not yet be determined.
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sits atop what appears to be a pedestal, flanked by a pair of two-handled jugs which may be sitting on some sort of stands. Dr. Avshalom-Gorni called the discovery "an exciting and unique find." This may be the oldest depiction of a menorah decoration and is the first menorah to be discovered in a
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by an artist who had actually seen the Temple and was familiar with the Holy of Holies. She understands the stone as intended to lend to this synagogue a sacred aura, making it, "like a lesser Temple", for use in the
Galilee, which was a long journey from Jerusalem under the conditions of that
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The stone's side panels are identical; each shows an arcade of four arches. Interpretations of the carvings vary. While some have interpreted the sides as showing three arches filled with sheaves of grain (probably wheat), and a fourth with a hanging object thought to be an oil lamp, others,
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The large six petal rosette relief atop the stone was a common design in Jewish funerary art during the Second Temple period. Its meaning is as yet unknown, but it is also found among the ruins of Gamla on a lintel stone flanked by two palm
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including Rina Talgam and
Mordechai Aviam see it as an architectural image. According to Aviam it shows an arcade through which is seen a second arcade of arches which the viewer is meant to understand as the entrance arches of the
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and the leading scholar of this stone, understands the
Magdala Stone as a depiction of the Temple and the implements used in worship, including a depiction of the
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and the beginning of the Early Roman era, the period when the Temple was still standing. "We can assume that the engraving that appears on the stone, which the
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The original stone has been removed for safekeeping; a replica is displayed in the ancient synagogue at
Magdala, an archaeological site open to the public.
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The stone stood in the center of the Migdal
Synagogue, and is tall enough to have been used as a reading desk or podium by someone in a seated position.
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Some scholars suggested that the local Jews saw
Jerusalem as their religious center, and their local activities took place under this centrality.
392:"The Decorated Stone from the Synagogue at Migdal, A Holistic Interpratation and a Glimpse into the Life of Galilean Jews at the Time of Jesus"
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The facade of the stone, on the side that faces
Jerusalem, features an arch supported by a pair of pillars. Within the arch a seven-branched
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The posting contains images of the stone, a description and details about its discovery presented by the field supervisor at the time.
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uncovered, was done by an artist who saw the seven-branched menorah with his own eyes in the Temple in
Jerusalem".
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The stone is approximately 0.6 m. (24 in.) long, circa 0.5 m. (20 in.) wide and stands 0.4 m. (18 in.) high.
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and other sacred books were read aloud and studied, but not sacred spaces in their own right.
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335:"At Magdala by the Kinneret, discoveries that resonate with Jews and Christians"
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309:"Synagogue in Mary Magdalene's town where Jesus preached unearthed in Israel"
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73:. Scholars believe that the stone was carved before the Romans destroyed the
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130:(Inner Altar) that stood in front of the Menorah inside the ancient Temple.
493:"2nd-Temple-period synagogue found where Gospel's Mary Magdalene was born"
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The stone is also notable for having the earliest known images of the
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549:"A stroll in the city of Magdala as it was in the time of Jesus"
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281:"A Carved Stone Block Upends Assumptions About Ancient Judaism"
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interprets the object beneath the menorah as an image of the
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Note the carving is correctly described as a relief, not an
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is a carved stone block unearthed by archaeologists in the
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The stone was uncovered during the 2009 excavation of the
360:. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Kids. p. 86.
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428:"Unique ancient synagogue exposed at Sea of Galilee"
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447:. Discovery Channel. 11 February 2013
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584:Archaeological discoveries in Israel
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279:Kershner, Isabel (8 December 2015).
197:A similar size stone was found in a
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307:Mitchell, Andre (20 August 2015).
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445:"Earliest Menora Depiction Found"
185:, professor of Jewish history at
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83:Menorah: Worship, History, Legend
37:destruction of the Second Temple
35:in Israel, dating to before the
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523:"Interview with Tine Rassalle"
497:The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com
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333:Bar-Am, Aviva (27 June 2015).
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137:Side panel of Magdala stone
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404:10.1163/15685365-12341433
390:Aviam, Mordechai (2013).
143:Top View of Magdala Stone
356:Rubalcaba, Jill (2018).
358:Who's who in the Bible?
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193:The "Horvat Kur stone"
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113:Second Temple period
237:"The Magdala Stone"
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233:Lawrence Schiffman
189:, share her view.
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337:. Times of Israel
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559:2021-12-12
502:2021-12-12
451:9 December
409:9 December
341:9 December
318:9 December
292:9 December
217:References
203:Horvat Kur
128:Gold Altar
77:in 70 CE.
467:engraving
122:However,
41:Jerusalem
471:intaglio
99:Carvings
91:and the
426:Staff.
249:12 June
108:menorah
89:Vatican
65:History
482:trees.
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240:(PDF)
52:Torah
534:2024
453:2015
411:2015
362:ISBN
343:2015
320:2015
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251:2017
209:Site
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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