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Archaeologists in Israel discovered a significant site in Lod shedding light on Jewish life during the Roman era in Palestine.
The excavation revealed a Jewish public building with Greek, Hebrew, and Latin inscriptions, confirming its association with the Jewish community.
“Among the various finds in the building were impressive stone and marble artifacts; Greek, Hebrew and Latin inscriptions, and one inscription bearing the name of a Jewish man from a priestly family, which is still being studied,” the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said.
“These inscriptions, coupled with the complete absence of pig bones from the bone assemblage uncovered in this site, attest to this building’s association with the Jewish community.”
The find includes 1,650-year-old coins from the Gallus Revolt and artifacts suggesting the structure’s importance for Jewish elders.
The discovery has shed light on Lod’s historical significance and the impact of the revolt on the community.
“The latest coins are dated from the time of the Gallus Revolt (351-354 CE),” the IAA said. “Though written evidence is sparse regarding this revolt, there are texts reporting that major Jewish communities such as Lod, Zipori and Tiberias were destroyed by the forces of Roman Caesar Flavius Constantius Gallus.”
“[They] were deliberately placed there – in the hopes of returning to collect them when the situation would calm,” the IAA said.
“From Talmudic writings we know that Lod was a most significant Jewish center in the aftermath of the Second Temple’s destruction in Jerusalem,” excavators Shahar Krispin and Mor Viezel jointly stated. “This building, destroyed down to its very foundation, is a clear indication that the revolt was forcefully put down with violence and cruelty, and was not simply a local uprising event, as some earlier studies contended.”
“This is the singular witness, thus far, to the extent and power of this revolt in Lod, located in the country’s center.”
“[It is] another link in the chain of Lod’s Tannaitic period heritage as host to the authors of the Mishna, and to Lod’s Jewish history,” Lod mayor Yair Revivo said. “The finds in the area proves that Lod is one of the oldest cities in the world.”
The find has raised questions regarding the building’s function, potentially serving as a synagogue, study hall, or meeting place, emphasizing Lod’s role in Jewish life during the Mishna and Talmud periods.
“It is difficult to determine if this magnificent building served as synagogue, study hall, meeting hall of the elders, or all three of these functions as one,” professor Joshua Schwartz said. “But what is clear is that the building’s size, the coin hoard, and the assemblage of archaeological finds produced by the excavation, fit well Lod/Diospolis’ description in both Jewish and non-Jewish sources as a center of Torah-true Jewish life in the Mishna and Talmud periods.”
“Lod’s role as a leading community with elders continued from after the destruction though to this moment when it was cruelly cut down in the Gallus Revolt,” Schwartz said.
