Researchers excavating in the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve in the Golan Heights have uncovered a 1,500-year-old synagogue, whose whereabouts had remained a mystery for decades.
This structure was unearthed after field teams spotted an unusually dense scatter of column drums and decorated stones along a path in an abandoned village inside the reserve.
The ongoing excavation is led by the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at Haifa University and the Land of Israel Studies department at the Kinneret Academic College, licensed by the Israel Antiquities Authority and funded by the United Israel Appeal and the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund.
On-site support is being lent by the nature reserve’s manager, Nael Daabous, and his staff as well.
Over 1,500 years ago, during the Roman and Byzantine eras, a Jewish community had worshiped in the building.
Although earlier surveys had recorded hundreds of basalt fragments from these periods, this prayer hall had eluded discovery. Among the finds documented before the current season were more than 150 lintels, column sections, and carved stones that villagers had reused in later construction.
“As part of a multiyear project to document architectural items from Golan villages, we recorded over 150 pieces in secondary use inside the abandoned Syrian village, but the location of the synagogue was not known until now,” said Dr. Mechael Osband of the Kinneret Academic College.
Once the newly identified cluster was examined, the southern wall of the synagogue came into view. “At the start of the excavation, dozens of architectural items appeared, and soon the southern wall with three openings facing Jerusalem was revealed,” said Osband.
The wall, more than 13 meters long, was built of two columns of ashlar stones and featured three doorways facing Jerusalem, a characteristic typical of synagogues from that period.
Two lintels, one bearing carved ornamentation, were found beside the openings. Measurements revealed the building to be approximately 13m. wide and around 17m. long, laid out in a basilica plan with two rows of columns and bench seating along the walls.
Inside and around the structure, archaeologists unearthed additional decorated fragments, including lamp and menorah motifs, along with elements interpreted as parts of the Ark of the Covenant. The craftsmanship of these basalt pieces points to a prosperous Jewish community in the Golan during late antiquity.
Evidence of a firm Jewish presence
Dr. Dror Ben-Yosef of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority said in a joint statement with Haifa University that roughly 25 ancient synagogues have been identified across the Golan, and that the Yehudiya park find adds additional evidence of Jewish settlements in the region 1,500 years ago.
Excavators plan to continue exposing the interior floors and column bases to gain a better understanding of the congregation that built and used the synagogue.