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  Shown within the West Bank | |
| Location |  West Bank |
|---|---|
| History | |
| Founded | 4th-5th centruy CE |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1934, 1969-70. |
The Eshtemoa Synagogue, located 15km south of Hebron in as-Samu, West Bank, was an ancient synagogue dating from around the 4th-5th centruy CE.
History
Eshtemoa, identified as modern as-Samu, was an ancient city named in the Bible, (Josh. 21:14.) During Roman and Byzantine period, Eshtemoa was described as a large Jewish village.
The remains of the synagogue were identified by L.A. Mayer and A. Reifenberg in 1934. In 1969-70, a full excavation of the site revealed that the building occupied the most prominent site in the village. It was built in "broadhouse" style without columns and measured 13.3 m (44 ft) by 21.3 m (70 ft). Entry was by any of three doors along its eastern side and one of the three niches recessed into the northern wall functioned as the Torah Ark. The building housed a mosaic floor and displayed external ornamental carvings. Four seven-brached menorahs were discovered carved onto door lintels and one of them is displayed in Jerusalem's Rockefeller Museum.
After the Muslim conquest, the synagogue was converted into a mosque and a mihrab was added. The western wall is still standing to a height of 7 m (23 ft). Many architectural elements of the building have be reused inside the modern village.
References
- ^ Avraham Negev; Shimon Gibson (July 2005). Archaeological encyclopedia of the Holy Land. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 167–168. ISBN 9780826485717. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ Günter Stemberger (2000). Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the fourth century. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 150. ISBN 9780567086990. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Léon Yarden (1971). The tree of light: a study of the Menorah, the seven-branched lampstand. East and West Library. p. 151. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Nadia Abu El-Haj (2001). Facts on the ground: archaeological practice and territorial self-fashioning in Israeli society. University of Chicago Press. p. 78. ISBN 9780226001951. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- Raphael Greenberg, Adi Keinan. Israeli Archaeological Activity in the West Bank 1967-2007: A Sourcebook, Ostracon 2009. pg. 136. ISBN: 978-965-91468.