 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 Bet Alpha  26 pictures
 1 minutes HQ video The ruins of the synagogue, which dates from the sixth century CE, were discovered in 1928 by members of the kibbutzim Bet-Alpha and Hefzi-Ba. The synangogue is located in Kibbutz Hefzi-Ba at the foot of Mt. Gilboa. The site was excavated in 1929 by E.L. Sukenik of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Additional buildings surrounding the synagogue were discovered in an exploratory dig, in 1962. The synagogue is aligned to the south-west, facing Jerusalem. The Zodiac  The mosaic floor is one of the most beautiful discovered in Israel. The synagogue itself included a central hall and two aisles, that were separated from the hall by two rows of columns. On the southern wall was an apse (a semi-circular niche), that protruded from the building, where the Holy Ark probably stood. The women's gallery seems to have been in the balcony, over the aisles. In the center of the apse, beneath the Ark, archaeologists found a small cavity covered by stone slabs, that served as the synagogue Genizah (depository for sacred texts). The structure was covered with a tiled roof, remains of which were found in the main hall. The entire area of the synagogue was carpeted with an elaborate, well-preserved mosaic. The main decoration was in the nave. In this part of the mosaic, near the ark, are depictions of Jewish ritual objects - a Holy Ark flanked by lions, birds and menorot (candelabra) and surrounded by animals, fruit and geometric designs. The central section of the mosaic contains a zodiac with the symbols of the months and their names in Hebrew and Aramaic. In the center is the sun god Helios, riding in a chariot drawn by four horses. In the four corners are figures of women, symbolizing the four seasons of the year. At the base of the mosaic is a depiction of the sacrifice of Isaac, accompanied by passages in Hebrew. (Two inscriptions near the main entrance state: "The well remembered artists who carried out this work Marianus and his son Hanina" (in Greek) and "The Mosaic was laid in the year… of the reign of Emperor Justinus (517-528 A.D.) for the price of one hundred measures of grain donated by the villagers" (in Aramaic). By the time the zodiac was laid, idol worship had lost its hold. The zodiac was probably used in the mosaic solely for decorative purposes. Among the important finds uncovered at the site, were bronze coins from the Byzantine period. These were discovered in the genizah and had been minted by emperors between the fourth and sixth centuries. The synagogue was probably destroyed by an earthquake at the end of the 6th century A.D. Mosaic - Holy ark  Mosaic - Sacrifice of Isaac  The Synagogue  
 Back to Israel Index
|
|||||
