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The Magdala stone is a carved stone block unearthed by archaeologists in a
Galilean Generically, a Galilean (; he, גלילי; grc, Γαλιλαίων; la, Galilaeos) is an inhabitant of Galilee, a region of Israel surrounding the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret). The New Testament notes that the Apostle Peter's accent gave him a ...
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
in Israel, dating to before the destruction of the Second Temple in
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in the year 70. It is notable for detailed carvings depicting the
Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...
, 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
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
and other sacred books were read aloud and studied, but not sacred spaces in their own right. The stone is also notable for having the earliest known images of the Temple Menorah to be found in a synagogue.


History

The stone was uncovered during the 2009 excavation of the Migdal Synagogue. In 2017, the Stone was displayed in Rome in '' Menorah: Worship, History, Legend,'' an exhibition jointly sponsored by the Vatican and the
Jewish Museum of Rome The Jewish Museum of Rome ( it, Museo Ebraico di Roma) is situated in the basement of the Great Synagogue of Rome and offers both information on the Jewish presence in Rome since the second century BCE and a large collection of works of art produ ...
.


Carvings

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. 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 menorah 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 Jewish context that dates to the
Second Temple period The Second Temple period in Jewish history lasted approximately 600 years (516 BCE - 70 CE), during which the Second Temple existed. It started with the return to Zion and the construction of the Second Temple, while it ended with the First Jewis ...
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 Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered, was done by an artist who saw the seven-branched menorah with his own eyes in the Temple in Jerusalem".Staff
"Unique ancient synagogue exposed at Sea of Galilee"
Israel Ministry of Tourism The Ministry of Tourism ( he, מִשְׂרַד הַתַּיָּרוּת, translit. ''Misrad HaTayarut'') is the Israeli government office responsible for tourism. The office was created in 1964, with Akiva Govrin being the first minister, but wa ...
, September 14, 2009.
However, Mordechai Aviam interprets the object beneath the menorah as an image of the Gold Altar (Inner Altar) that stood in front of the Menorah inside the ancient Temple. 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, 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
Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's prese ...
.


Placement in the synagogue at Migdal

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. A similar size stone was found in an ancient synagogue dating from the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
period in a dig at nearby Horvat Kur; it is also carved with images of the Temple. Some scholars suggested that the local Jews saw Jerusalem as their religious center, and their local activities took place under this centrality.
Rina Talgam Rina or RINA may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Rina (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Kento Rina, Indian politician * Mahfuza Rahman Rina, Bangladeshi politician * Tongam Rina (born 1979), Indian journ ...
, a professor specializing in the art of the ancient Near East at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
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
Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's prese ...
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 pedestrian era, when most people traveled by foot. Other scholars of the period, including Elchanan Reiner, professor of Jewish history at
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
, share her view.


Site

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.


References

{{Reflist, 30em Second Temple Archaeological discoveries in Israel Archaeology of Israel 2009 archaeological discoveries 2009 in Israel