Anim synagogue

Anim Synagogue, a 25 km (16 mi) drive away northwest of Arad, was an ancient synagogue in use during the 4th–7th centuries CE. The site is recognized as a National Heritage Site of Israel. It is located in the Yatir Forest, immediately south of the Green Line, in Israel.

'Anim Synagogue
Shown within Israel
Location Israel
Coordinates31.3425°N 35.061667°E / 31.3425; 35.061667
Length14.5 m (48 ft)
Width8.5 m (28 ft)
History
MaterialHewn stone
Founded4th-century CE
Abandoned8th-century CE
PeriodsRoman-Byzantine
CulturesJewish
Site notes
Excavation dates1988–89
ArchaeologistsZ. Ilan & Dan Urman
Conditionruin
Public accessyes

History
Synagogue interior

The synagogue is located at an ancient site identified with the 'Anim mentioned in the Bible (Joshua 15:50). It is also believed to be the site of the large Jewish village of Anaya during the Roman-Byzantine period.[1]

The synagogue was discovered during an excavation conducted in 1987. It consists of a rectangular prayer hall orientated towards Jerusalem measuring 14.5 by 8.5 metres (48 ft × 28 ft), an entrance portico and a courtyard with rooms on both sides.[1] Hewn stone walls still stand to a height of 3.5 m (11 ft) and two entrances on the east side survive with their lintels intact. Evidence of a mosaic floor was found beneath the current stone slab flooring[1] and fragments of an inscription remain.[2] The building functioned as a synagogue until the seventh or eighth century when it was turned into a mosque.[2]

The site of the ancient Jewish village is now known as Lower Horvat Anim, with a neighbouring contemporary Christian village at Upper Horvat Anim just 2 km northeast from it.[3][4] Excavations at Upper Horvat Anim have uncovered the remains of a larger regional Byzantine church outside the village, overlooking it from the hill to the east and joined to it by a pathway - a configuration repeatedly met in the Southern Hebron Hills. [3]

See also

References
  1. Dan Urman; Paul Virgil McCracken Flesher (1998). Ancient synagogues: historical analysis and archaeological discovery. BRILL. pp. 135–136. ISBN 978-90-04-11254-4. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  2. Günter Stemberger (2000). Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the fourth century. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 150–151. ISBN 978-0-567-08699-0. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  3. Doron Bar, 'The Christianisation of Rural Palestine during_Late Antiquity', Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 54, No. 3, July 2003, pp.401-421; p.413.
  4. Horvat 'Anim at BibleWalks.com, accessed 16 July 2019
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