The Excavation of an Ancient Synagogue at Khirbet Majduliyya

Khirbet Majduliyya is a Roman period rural site in the Golan on the border of the Gaulantitis and Hippos administrative districts. The main goal of the excavations at the site is to characterize the architecture and material culture of a rural Roman period village in the Golan. The the settlement dates mainly to the Roman period, from the late first century BCE through the early fourth century CE, and did not continue into the Byzantine period (part of the village was resettled for a short time in the Mamluk period).

Beginning in 2014 remains of a large basalt stone public building on the eastern edge of the site have been excavated. The structure has a long rectangular shape, measuring in the outer walls approximately 23 X 13 meters, long on it north-south axis. Architectural features including ashlars, column drums and capitals of the Doric order, tiers of benches all of high quality hewn basalt stones, as well as roof tiles and parts of a mosaic floor, were revealed. The closet parallels for similar buildings are the ancient synagogues from the first century CE (e.g. Gamla and Magdala). Yet, in its internal arrangement, the structure at Khirbet Majduliyya shows some distinct architectural features (e.g. openings only on the western long side, only two rows of columns and a floor in the central nave lower than in the aisles, etc.). The evidence suggests that this building was still in use during the second and possibly third centuries.