Oldest synagogue discovered

JERUSALEM, March 30 (JTA) — Israeli archaeologists have uncovered remains of what is believed to be the world’s oldest synagogue. The remains, which are believed to date from the first century B.C.E., were uncovered near the West Bank town of Jericho. One of the relics discovered by the team was a u-shaped bench. The bench, which was apparently used for ceremonial meals, is the first physical evidence that such meals took place before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. The team was headed by Ehud Netzer, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The remains were excavated near the site of a Hasmonean-era winter palace— perhaps the most famous Hasmonean leader was Judah Maccabee, whose triumph against the Seleucid kingdom in the second century B.C.E. is celebrated in Chanukah. The previously oldest known synagogue was in the Golan Heights, according to Netzer. That synagogue was built approximately 50 years later than this one.