Second ancient synagogue found in Migdal alters ideas of Jewish life 2,000 years ago

A 2,000-year-old synagogue from the Second Temple Period was recently uncovered at Migdal, on the northwestern edge of the Sea of Galilee, making it the second such synagogue found in the ancient community, the University of Haifa says in a statement.

It is the first time that two synagogues have been found within the same settlement from the period when the Jewish temple was still functioning in Jerusalem, a discovery that researchers said changed their understanding of religious life at the time.

Archaeologists had assumed that as long as the temple was still standing there was not such a great need for synagogues, Prof. Adi Erlich of the University of Haifa explains in the statement.

“At this time the Temple still exists and so the explanation was that the paucity of evidence about synagogues stemmed from the fact that it may not have been a common structure. That is, in light of the centrality of worship in Jerusalem, there may not have been a need for many synagogues in the localities themselves,” she says.