Horbat Diab: A Second Temple-Era Rural Synagogue in Western Benjamin

In 2005, over the course of the Seam Zone Project carried out in the vicinity of Jerusalem, a salvage excavation took place near Giv`on HaHadashah, at the site of Horbat Diab. Located atop a low hilltop at the western end of Ramat al-Jib, the site was found to contain a large farmhouse or manor complex that extended over the entire hilltop and its eastern slope, dated by the various finds to the 1st century CE until the time of the First Revolt. This complex comprised a central, southern and eastern wing, with the central wing separated from the southern wing by an open courtyard.

Both the eastern and southern wings were divided into a series of chambers. Of particular note is the southernmost room in the latter, whose unique layout hints at a special function. This was an elongated chamber whose entrance was in the center of its northern wall, with finely made ashlar-built benches flanking the entrance from either side and also running along the northern, southern and western walls. Benches also seem to have been installed along the eastern wall. The centralized orientation of the chamber, coupled with the presence of the benches, seems to indicate a structure used for purposes of assembly and, as such, we therefore propose to identify it as a rural synagogue.