Katzrin
The ruins of the ancient
Jewish village of Katzrin are located in the central Golan,
some 13 km. northeast of the Sea
of Galilee. The village was built on a gentle slope surrounded by
fertile fields. A number of perennial springs in the wadi (dry
riverbed) north of the village provided some water, but the main
source was the spring located in the village, from which water was
channeled to a small collecting pool cut into the basalt bedrock.
Over the hundreds of years of the village's existence the level of
its streets rose, and retaining walls had to be constructed around
the spring, to allow continued drawing of water.
The location of Katzrin,
mentioned in ancient Jewish sources, was identified at the end of the
19th century. The synagogue was discovered in 1967 during a survey,
in which an ancient gravestone bearing the Hebrew inscription Rabbi
Abun, may he rest in honor was also found. The synagogue was
excavated between 1971 and 1984 and, beginning in 1983, houses in the
village east of the synagogue were also excavated.
Minor Iron Age remains were
found, on which a settlement was built in the Hellenistic
period (2nd century BCE). During the Roman-Byzantine
period (4th-7th centuries), the village grew and became
prosperous. Thereafter it gradually declined; it was entirely
abandoned during the Mamluk period (13-14th century).
The remains of ancient
Katzrin have been restored after excavation: the columns of the synagogue are upright once more and the houses near the synagogue are two
stories high and roofed. Samples of ancient household utensils and
agricultural implements are displayed in the houses.
The Village
Remains of the village of
Katzrin were exposed east of the synagogue. The buildings have
particularly thick walls of trimmed basalt stones and the entrances
are made of long, very carefully dressed stones. The buildings of
this ancient village were well adapted to the climate of the region:
they maintained a comfortable temperature both in the cold winters
and in the hot summers. Also, the extensive use of stone was an
architectural solution to the absence of suitable wood in the Golan.
The excavations enable us to
trace the architectural development of the village from the Roman
period (3rd-4th centuries) to the Early Arab period (8th
century). At first the basic dwelling unit consisted of one large
room, which opened onto the street with a second story on top of it.
Behind the house was a large yard, sometimes with an additional room
that served as a storeroom or kitchen.
Over the years, additional
units were added to this basic family unit. Thus a dense cluster of
dwellings, devoid of planning, came into being. Each insula (cluster
of buildings surrounded by streets) consisted of several dwelling
units and a large number of rooms and yards arranged around a central
courtyard. Narrow, winding lanes separated the buildings from the
synagogue.
Ceramic storage jars and
cooking pots, and crushing and grinding tools made of local basalt
were found inside the houses. Surprising was the discovery of many
hoards of hundreds of coins each, hidden under the floors and
thresholds and in the walls of the houses. One such hoard contained
9,000 coins dating from the 4th century. High inflation in this
period had caused considerable devaluation of the coins; it has been
suggested, therefore, that the money was not hoarded for future use,
but concealed to bring good fortune, a widespread belief among
villagers at the time.
The Synagogue
A synagogue was first built
in the 4th-5th centuries - a modest, square building with six
columns. In the 6th century, a large and elegant synagogue was built
on its ruins; during the years of its use, it was renovated several
times, and additions were built. Constructed entirely of basalt, it
is notable for the wealth of its decorations. The synagogue was
partially preserved to a height of 3 m.
Oriented north-south towards
Jerusalem, the synagogue is trapezoidal in shape (about 17.6 x
15.3 m.) with minor differences in the length of the walls. The
exterior walls were carefully built of square, well-trimmed stones,
while the interior walls were of inferior construction. The main
entrance, in the center of the northern wall, has a doorway decorated
with carved stepped-profile and egg-and-dart designs. On the lintel
is a carved wreath tied in a Hercules knot, flanked by two
pomegranates and two amphorae. A secondary entrance in the western
wall had a lintel with carved rhomboids and triangles and a rosette
in the center.
Two rows of four columns
each divided the synagogue into a nave and two aisles. The capitals
of the columns are Ionic in inspiration, but contain the variant
details characteristic of Golan synagogue architecture. The synagogue
was two stories high (apparently without an inner balcony on the
second floor), and had rows of windows at the top of the walls. The
roof consisted of wooden beams covered by ceramic tiles; many
fragments of these were found in the ruins. In the southern wall,
which is oriented towards Jerusalem, a pair of ashlar-built steps led
to a raised, solid stone platform (bama). It is assumed that the
wooden structure of the Torah ark stood on it. Beneath this bama was
an elongated stone-paved chamber, narrow and low, which probably
served as a geniza (storage space for sacred texts no longer in use).
The walls of the prayer hall were plastered and painted white, and
some of the lower portions decorated with red geometric motifs. Stone
benches were built along the walls, in the form of a double step.
In the 6th century, the
synagogue was paved with colored mosaics, of which only small
portions have been preserved. The mosaic flooring was covered with
hard, white plaster during repairs carried out in the 7th century.
The Katzrin synagogue was in
use even after the Muslim
conquest; it was apparently destroyed during the earthquake in
749, which also destroyed most of the village. A small mosque was
built in the northern part of the synagogue in the Mamluk period, but
it was in use for only a short time. The village was then abandoned
and covered by debris until its discovery.
The synagogue was excavated
by D. Urman, M. Ben-Ari and S. Barlev, and later by Z. Maoz, R.
Hachlili and A. Killebrew, while the village was excavated by A.
Killebrew. The excavations were carried out on behalf of the Israel
Department of Antiquities.
Sources: Israeli Foreign Ministry |