Ancient City of Kiryat Sefer
Kiryat Sefer is located some 25 km. east of Tel
Aviv, on a hill near the ancient road from Caesarea via Beit Horon to Jerusalem.
The remains of a small Jewish village were found at
the site. Several dwellings were arranged around a broad square, at
the center of which stood a public building - the synagogue.
The buildings were well constructed and separated by narrow alleys;
their walls made of large, trimmed stones, and the entrances of well-dressed
ashlars.
Each dwelling consisted of several rooms around an
inner courtyard. In them were various installations, such as pits for
storing water, cut into the rock to considerable depth, olive presses
with stone basins for crushing and heavy stone weights for pressing.
The mikva'ot (Jewish ritual baths) in the houses were cut into the rock
and plastered, with stairs leading to the bottom. Their presence attests
to the resident's attention to Jewish ritual purity regulations. One
structure, with several particularly large rooms, probably served as
a warehouse for the products of the inhabitants.
The Synagogue
A small building with a unique plan stood in the village
square. It was a square structure (9.6 m. wide on each side), the façade
with the main entrance facing north. This wall was particularly well
built of large ashlars with margins and smoothed boss, unlike the other
walls, which were constructed of large, trimmed stones like the village
houses. The entrance in the center of the façade had a lintel
with a rosette in relief, within a triangular frame.
The floor of the synagogue was carefully laid of large, trimmed stones. Around three of the building's
inner walls (all except the entrance wall) were high, wide benches constructed
of stone. Four pillars made of stone sections and topped with Dorian-style
capitals stood in the center. At each side of the entrance, and in the
back wall of the building, protruded two pairs of square stone pilasters
with capitals. The columns and the pilasters created two rows along
the length of the building that supported arches, originally surmounted
by a wooden structure that in turn supported the roofing. Fragments
of red-painted plaster are evidence that the walls were painted. In
the western wall of the building was an entrance to a small, plastered
room in which ritual objects of the synagogue were probably kept. Summary
The presence of synagogues in the Second
Temple period is known from Jewish sources, as well as from the New Testament. The remains
of a few such synagogues have been uncovered, including the well-known
one in the fortress of Masada on the Dead Sea and the one of Gamala,
on the Golan. During this
period, the Temple still stood in Jerusalem and served as the center
of Jewish cult. Synagogues existed in Jewish settlements, serving the
needs of the community as places for Torah study and prayer. Their
existence did not compete with, or challenge, the centrality and importance
of the Temple. The synagogue discovered at Kiryat Sefer demonstrates
that synagogues were built even in small villages on the fringes of
the area inhabited by Jews. The synagogue of Kiryat Sefer was a modest
structure, built according to the economic means and the requirements
of the village community.
The building has architectural features similar to
those of other synagogues of this period, thereby aiding researchers
in identifying it as a synagogue. The fact that it is not oriented towards
Jerusalem only demonstrates that during this period regulations governing
synagogue orientation (prayer facing Jerusalem) had not yet been consolidated.
Finds from the houses of the village, such as pottery and coins, show
that the village had been founded in the Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd
centuries BCE), but the buildings in the village and the synagogue date
from the 1st century BCE.
The village was established by Jews who had left
the hills of Benjamin and Ephraim (the Samaria region). They developed
vineyards and olive groves, sold their products on local markets, and
even exported abroad. Export of olive oil and wine brought them economic
prosperity, as reflected in several hoards of coins, including many
gold coins, which were found in the ruins of the village. Though few
in number, the inhabitants were able to construct spacious houses and
to fund the building of a synagogue, in which to gather for religious
and social functions.
The village of Kiryat Sefer was abandoned during the
suppression of the First Jewish
Revolt against Rome (66-70 CE). It was briefly resettled, but was
destroyed during the Roman suppression of the Bar-Kokhba
Rebellion (132-135 CE).
The remains of the village and the synagogue have
been preserved within the area of the modern settlement of Kiryat Sefer.
After reconstruction, the site will be opened to the public.
Sources: Israeli Foreign Ministry |