Obj. ID: 18553
Ancient Jewish Art Ancient Synagogue Complex in Oncheasmos (Saranda), Albania
Description
The Ancient Synagogue Complex in Saranda contains five occupation layers from the 2nd through 6th centuries. The first two, dated to the Roman Period (2nd-3rd centuries CE), were identified as parts of a Roman Villa. The 3rd and 4th occupation layers indicate the site's use as a synagogue, and the fifth layer indicates the complex's eventual conversion to a church, all of which occurred between the 4th and 6th centuries CE (Hachlili 2018, 181).
Layer 3
The early synagogue's mosaics consist of two designs: the first, taking up the floor of a north-south hallway, consists mostly of geometric panels with a central panel that contains a menorah, a shofar, and a citron (Yuval-Hacham 2019, 164). the second mosaic of this level, directly to the east of this hall, consists of an amphora containing a plant of some sort, and potentially part of an animal, though damage makes this hard to determine (ibid.).
Layer 4
The synagogue was eventually renovated into an east-facing basilica, with a mosaic decorating the nave, separated into three sections, one above the other. The easternmost panel, attached to the bima and the best preserved of the three, depicts a pair of birds. Also in the nave's mosaics are an amphora surrounded by animals, trees flanked by paired animals, and linked medallions with birds and flowers in them (ibid.).
sub-set tree:
This synagogue is the earliest direct evidence of a Jewish Presence in modern-day Albania.
Excavations were carried out in 2003-2004 by Ehud Netzer and Gideon Foerster.
E. Netzer, and G. Foerster. “The Synagogue at Saranda, Albania," Qadmoniot: A Journal for the Antiquities of Eretz-Israel and Bible Lands 129 (2005): 45–53, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23682840. (accessed October 29, 2023)
Hachlili, Rachel, "The Menorah as an Identifying Sign/Indicator of a Jewish Site: Synagogue, Cemetery or Other," in The Menorah: Evolving into the Most Important Jewish Symbol (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2018), pp. 155-195.
Yuval-Hacham, Noa, "Art and Identity in Late Antique Synagogues of the Roman-Byzantine Diaspora" Arts 8 (2019)