Archeology Archives | Page 4 of 5

Rei Square (Placa de Rei)

Plaza del Rei, the King’s square, is located in the center of the Gothic District, radiating its cultural charm. Here, you can find the Palau Reial alongside, where the notorious Disputation of Barcelona ran its course in 1263, between the Dominican convert Pau Cristià, a great polemicist and expert in the Talmud, and the Jew from Girona, Moses ben Nahman, or Nahmanides, one of the great learned men of the age.

The Plaça Reial stands in front of the former palace of the King of Aragon, location of the famous Disputation of Barcelona, a contest of words between Nahmanides, the Kabbalist of Girona who had close ties with the King, and Pablo Cristiani from Montpellier, a Jew who had converted to Catholicism. The debate went on for 4 days, with topics ranging from debates around the Messiah to which religion showed the truth. The aim of such debates was to show the flaws in Judaism in front of an angry public, humiliating Rabbis who were not allowed to ask questions, but merely defend those presented to them. Though King Jaume I said that “never before had he heard an unjust cause so nobly defended”, and had a good relationship to Nahmanides, he still banished him, albeit with a large sum of money in his hand.

Cemetery of Selestat

In 1622, when no Jewish family lived in Sélestat, the Jews of the communities or Wintzenheim, Ribeauvillé and Bergheim no longer had any necropolis near Colmar, the city councilors refusing the extension. Also these Jews bought land around Sélestat, in the canton known as Burner, which later took the name of Paradiesweg to establish a rest area. The cemetery (named the “Paradies”), with an area of nearly 4 hectares and comprising around 4000 graves, was created around 1622.
The oldest part has been listed as an historic monument since May 10, 1995. Located to the north of the city, it was opened by the Jewish communities of Bergheim, Ribeauvillé, and Dambach-la-Ville, then enlarged several times over the centuries, in 1699, 1719, 1733 respectively. the limits: one of them bears the inscription “Bel Ain”, which means house of eternity.
In the last century, a fence wall pierced with two doors was installed; on the central portal, we can see two broken poppy branches: the poppy symbolizing sleep, and the broken branches death.
The oldest identified stele is that of Rabbi Moïse de Dambach, dating from 1666. Many Jewish personalities of the 17th century rest in this cemetery, in particular the niece of Karl Marx, Rose Blum, as well as Raisel See, heroine of the French Revolution. native of Bergheim, as well as Moïse Meier, president and general representative of the Jews of the province.
There is also the tomb of Léopold Weiller, father of Lazare Weiller, who was one of the founders of television, and of the first automobile cab company (the ancestor of taxis). He was a senator for Bas-Rhin.
This cemetery makes it possible to observe over a continuous series of changes in Jewish funerary art in the 18th century mainly, through the decorative treatment of the stelae which evolves from a fairly stripped Renaissance style to a more baroque art around the middle of the century. (Dictionary of Historical Monuments Alsace – sept. 1995)
During the Nazi Occupation, the cemetery passed into the hands of the authorities. It is the mayor, who, in 1979, ceded for the symbolic franc, the cemetery to the Jewish community.

Photo credit: Oie blanche, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Ostia Antica Synagogue

The ruins of the Ostia synagogue, discovered in 1961, are a crucial piece of evidence, telling us as much about the Jewish presence in the region as they do about the most ancient Jewish diaspora organisation. The primitive section dates from the 1st century, when the port built by Emperor Claudius turned the city into a multi-ethnic trading centre. The building had many rooms, and was later renovated and enlarged, particularly in the 3rd and 4th centuries. The sanctuary was accessed through a vestibule with three entrances and an intermediate passageway with tall Corinthian columns. The tevah is thought to have been on the slightly curved wall at the back of the room; on the opposite side you can still see the 4th century apse which made up the Aron, framed by an aedicule originally with trabeated columns. Decorative bas-reliefs with traditional subjects are at the top of the projecting ledges are: the menorah, the shofar, and lulav.
Additional rooms in the space near the vestibule date from later transformations, including a kitchen with an oven and sunken compartments for provisions, and a large room with benches along the walls, perhaps used as guest quarters.

Catacombs of Vigna Randanini

The Vigna Randanini catacomb on the Via Appia is the only site currently open to visitors. The underground or hypogeal area is now accessed via a passageway which dates to the period between the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. The arcosolia (chambers with lowered vaulted ceilings) are thought to date from a later period, as is the black and white mosaic flooring.
Inside the catacomb loculi or tombs arranged along the walls, and kokhim, tombs that are perpendicular to the walls of the gallery, dug just beneath the floor, typical of the Middle East. Those at Vigna Randanini are the only example of such tombs in the Roman Jewish catacombs.
Along the various galleries, other burial spaces are organized into cubicula (chambers for multiple burials). Richly frescoed, only some of them show symbols from the Hebrew tradition; indeed, some of them, decorated with motifs commonly found in other Roman catacombs, originate from a period prior to their use by the Jewish community (3rd – 4th centuries), and are thought to have been incorporated after they were no longer in use.

Arch of Titus

The majestic triumphal arch is dedicated to the Emperor Titus and was constructed in the years following his death in 81 CE. The monument celebrates his victory over Jerusalem in 70 CE. and the annexation of Judaea to the Roman Empire.
A depiction of the divinization of the emperor, shown flying upon an eagle can be seen at the centre of the coffered soffit. On either side of the archway are reliefs with scenes of his triumph. On one side they show the entrance of Titus, and his coronation, surrounded by allegorical figures; on the other, the procession going through the triumphal arch, carrying the spoils looted from the destroyed Temple: among them the menorah, the large seven-branched candlestick stands out.
Roman Jews would always refuse to walk under this archway. It was only after the birth of the State of Israel that they crossed it, but this time in the opposite direction to that of the triumphal procession.

Eretz Israel Museum

The Eretz Israel Museum is a historical and archeological museum in the Ramat Aviv neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Established in 1953, the museum has a large display of archaeological, anthropological, and historical artifacts organized in a series of exhibition pavilions on its grounds. Each pavilion is dedicated to a different subject: glassware, ceramics, coins, copper, and more. The museum also has a planetarium. The “Man and His Work” wing features live demonstrations of ancient methods of weaving, jewelry and pottery making, grain grinding, and bread baking. Tel Qasile, an excavation in which 12 distinct layers of culture have been uncovered, is on the grounds of the museum.

Hezekiah’s Tunnel

The Siloam Tunnel, also known as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, is a carved water channel beneath the City of David. In ancient times, it was located in the Arab neighborhood of Silwan in eastern Jerusalem. Its popular name derived from the most common hypothesis, dating back from the reign of Hezekiah of Judah (late 8th and early 7th century BC), and corresponds to the “conduit” mentioned in 2 Kings 20:20 in the Hebrew Bible. According to the Bible, King Hezekiah prepared Jerusalem for an impending siege by the Assyrians. He successfully blocked the source of incoming water from the upper Gihon, directing it down west to the City of David.

The Cardo

The Cardo was a north–south–oriented street in Roman cities, military camps, and colonies. It was an integral component of city planning, lined with shops and vendors, and served as a hub of economic life. The main cardo was called ‘Cardo Maximus’. Most Roman cities additionally contained a Decumanus Maximus, an east-west street that served as a secondary main street. Generally, the Cardo Maximus served as the primary road. However, due to varying geography, Decumanus was sometimes considered the main street, while the Cardo was considered secondary. The Forum was normally located at the intersection of the Decumanus and the Cardo. The Cardo was the “hinge” or axis of the city, derived from the same root as cardinal. The main street of Crusader Jerusalem went from Nabelus gate (St. Stephan) to Zion gate, to the Holy Seplecure area. Here, they divided the Cardo into three different markets: the covered market, the spice market, and the bad cooking market. This occurred under the reign of Queen Melisinda, who was the current Queen of Jerusalem.

Castel National Park

Castel National Park (גן לאומי קסטל) is an Israeli national park consisting of a fortified summit. It is located in the Judean Mountains in the former Arab village of Al-Qastal. It is located 8 km west of Jerusalem, connecting to a road leading to Tel Aviv (Highway 1). The site is mostly known as the place of the key battles of Operation Nachshon, which were held in April 1948 during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Fierce battles that claimed many lives took place there as Arabs and Jews fought for control of the site, which overlooked the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. The Castel exchanged hands several times in the course of the fighting. The tides turned when the revered Arab commander, Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, was killed. Many Arabs left their positions to attend al-Husayni’s funeral at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, April 9th. That same day, the Castel fell to the Israeli forces, virtually unopposed. The national park includes a memorial for the Israeli soldiers who died there. In 1980, Yitzhak Yamin designed a monument to honor these fallen soldiers. Additionally, there is a memorial representing the convoys who attempted to break through the blockade of Jerusalem.

Bet She’arim National Park

Beit She’arim is the current name for the ancient Jewish town of Bet She’arāyim, also known as Kfar She’arāyim. Made popular by its necropolis, it is now known as Beit She’arim National Park.

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