Archaeologists reveal what they discovered in first century Russian Jewish quarter
Archaeologists uncovered a magnificent Jewish quarter in Russia, located around the ruins of the oldest synagogue in the world discovered outside of Israel. This synagogue was built about 2,000 years ago, during the time of the Second Temple. The synagogue and the Jewish quarter were first discovered last year in Phanagoria in southwest Russia.
Now, the exciting findings were presented for the first time at a press conference in Russia by the head of the archaeologists' delegation, Vladimir Kuznetsov, who was the head of the Department of Classical Archeology at the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The synagogue was built in 51 CE and lasted about 500 years. With the discovery of the foundations of the building, the researchers continued to dig and found marble lamps and sconces, as well as ancient tables in the building. One of them bears the ancient Greek inscription for synagogue and has been named one of the world's oldest synagogues and the oldest synagogue outside Israel by experts.
Rich decorations on its painted walls characterized the findings. The Jewish marble motifs found are unique and vary from those in Israel. The researchers noted that few synagogues operated during the Second Temple period, and were built by Jewish representatives who lived far from Jerusalem. The synagogue was destroyed in the 6th century AD by local tribes who looted the city and set fire to its buildings. The city of Phanagoria used to be labeled a Jewish city.
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