page_title: Magdala
section_title: The synagogue
hierarchical_section_title: Magdala / History / Roman period / The synagogue
caption_attribution_description: עברית: עיר קדומה בגליל, ששכנה לחוף הכנרת, בדרום בקעת גינוסר, סמוך ליישוב מגדל של היום המשמר את שמה. עד להקמת העיר טבריה בשנת 20 לספירה, הייתה מגדלא המרכז העירוני היחיד בחוף המערבי של הכנרת. This is a photo of a place that is recognized as a heritage site by The Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites in Israel. The site's ID in Wiki Loves Monuments photographic competition is 16-0065-101
context_page_description: Magdala was an ancient city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, 3 miles north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magdala Nunayya, and which some historical geographers think may refer to Tarichaea, literally the place of processing fish. It is believed to be the birthplace of Mary Magdalene. Until the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, a small Palestinian Arab village, al-Majdal, stood at the site of ancient Magdala, while nowadays the modern Israeli municipality of Migdal extends to the area.
  Archaeological excavations on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted in 2006 found that the settlement began during the Hellenistic period and ended during the late Roman period. Later excavations in 2009–2013 brought perhaps the most important discovery in the site: an ancient synagogue, called the "Migdal Synagogue". It is the oldest synagogue found in the Galilee, and one of the only synagogues from that period found in the entire country, as of the time of the excavation. They also found the Magdala stone, which has a seven-branched menorah symbol carved on it. It is the earliest menorah of that period to be discovered outside of Jerusalem.
context_section_description: The remains of a Roman-period synagogue dated to between 50 BCE and 100 CE were discovered in 2009. The walls of the 120-square-metre (1,300 sq ft) main hall were decorated with brightly colored frescoes, and inside there was a stone block carved with a seven-branched menorah.
caption: Inside the excavated synagogue
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