Priene Synagogue
Ancient synagogue in Priene, Turkey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Priene Synagogue is a former ancient Jewish synagogue, that was discovered in the modern-day town of Priene in Güllübahçe, Söke, in the Aydın Province, in the Aegean Region, on the western boundary of Turkey. The former synagogue building is now an archaeological site and Jewish museum.
| Priene Synagogue | |
|---|---|
The former synagogue ruins, in 2015 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Judaism (former) |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status |
|
| Status | Archaeological site |
| Location | |
| Location | Priene, Güllübahçe, Söke, Aydın Province, Aegean Region |
| Country | Turkey |
  Location of the former synagogue ruins in modern-day Aegean Region of Turkey | |
| Coordinates | 37°39′30.8″N 27°17′44.4″E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Synagogue architecture |
| Style | Roman architecture |
| Completed | 2nd century CE[a] |
| Materials | Stone |
| [1] | |
History
The synagogue was discovered by archaeologists Theodor Wiegand and Hans Schrader in the western residential area in 1895–98. The synagogue dates from the 2nd century CE and was built into an older Hellenistic house. It consists of a main hall with two rows of columns forming a small basilica. Only one column was still in place. However, in the 1904 excavation report they mistakenly speculated that the structure was a house church.[2]
In 1928, archaeologist Eleazar Sukenik identified the building as a synagogue, pointing to a niche for the Torah Ark. He also noted the carved menorah near the niche. It is known that hundreds of thousands of Jews lived in Asia Minor in the 1st century CE. Only two confirmed synagogues have been discovered: the Sardis Synagogue and this second one in Priene.[citation needed]
In the summer of 2009 archeologists Nadin Burkhardt from the University of Frankfurt am Main and Mark Wilson of the Asia Minor Research Center in İzmir began an exploration of the synagogue in a dig sponsored by the Biblical Archaeology Society.[3][4]
See also
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