Description
In 2009, a first century synagogue was uncovered in Magdala. The synagogue consists of a large reading room and a narrow study room in front of it. A stone in the study room with two grooves may have been used to place a scroll for reading or copying. The floor of the corridor has a central rosette with flanking meander patterns made of mosaic. Near the centre of the room, a rectangular stone with four feet was discovered. This stone, that apparently supported a wooden lectern, was decorated with a relief of a seven-branch menorah, flanked on either side by amphorae and columns. These decorations were reminiscent of the Jerusalem Temple.