In this one-day lecture, FAU history professor Byron R. McCane will present the latest results from the ongoing excavations in the synagogue at Horvat Kur in northern Israel. As co-director of the international consortium of universities sponsoring the dig, Professor McCane will share his first-hand experience and detailed knowledge of the excavation, giving students an “up close and personal” look at a real-life archaeological dig. The lecture will include slides, video and samples of ancient pottery, along with discussion. Participants will feel as if they are right there at the excavation, but, of course, without having to endure the 4 a.m. wake-up call and the 100
o heat.
The synagogue at Horvat Kur sits atop a hill above the northwest shore of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). Today, the hill is deserted, but in antiquity, it was the site of a bustling village of several hundred families. As the largest building in town, the synagogue served as an all-purpose community center, and as such, it was the site for religious meetings, social gatherings, political conversations and more. For over 400 years, villagers gathered in their synagogue whenever there was a service, a bar mitzvah or any other important community event.
Excavations in the synagogue began in 2011 and to this point, the archaeologists on the team have uncovered:
- The complete synagogue building, including an adjacent “house of study”
- A mosaic floor with a depiction of a menorah and an ancient Aramaic inscription
- The Torah shrine in which the scrolls were kept
- A “seat of Moses” in which the leader of the congregation sat
- A basalt table, perhaps used for Torah reading
- Three coin deposits, probably to dedicate new installations in the synagogue
- A cistern containing 38 intact vessels of ancient pottery
- Three houses built alongside the synagogue
In a way, archaeology is like forensics: it is the controlled and disciplined recovery of material evidence from the past. As such, the dig at Horvat Kur offers us an exceptionally vivid glimpse into the lives of ordinary people long ago. In this class, we will travel back through time, where we will get to meet the ancient residents of Horvat Kur in their synagogue.
