Ein Nashut

The synagogue remains at Ein Nashut

Map of Israel in Hebrew

Ein Neshut is an archaeological site where remains of a Jewish settlement from the Talmudic period and an ancient synagogue were discovered in the center of the Golan Heights.

Geography

The site is s located on a hill 392 meters above sea level, a kilometer and a half north of Katzrin and about a kilometer and a half south of the settlement of Kidmat Tzvi, just above the beginning of the Meshushim River ravine.

Archeology

Decorated column capital

Remains of the oil press at Ein Nashut

The site was first explored in the 1880s by researcher Gottlieb Schumacher, who suggested that the site contained the remains of an ancient synagogue.

In the remains of the 10 meters by 11 meters synagogue located in the center of the settlement, are benches, columns and decorated capitals and some of them with a nine branched Menorah. On the south side of the building facing Jerusalem remains of a Torah ark was found.

Based on hoards of coins found under the synagogue floor, researchers believe that the building was built around 475 CE. Beside the synagogue, the remains of an ancient oil press also stand out in the ruins. Remains of additional synagogues from the same period were also discovered a kilometer and a half to south east in the ruins of Sokho also known as Ahmadiyya, and in the Debia ruins, about three kilometers east of the site.

References

• Hanna & David Amit - Sights : Travel with the sources in north of the country, Publication: Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Institute p. 217 - 221
• Dafna & Eran Meir - Synagogues in the Golan Heights, Publication: Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Institute Jerusalem p. 52 - 63

External links

• A tour of the ruins of Ein Nashut (organized 22.08.2016 in the Wayback Machine archive) on the Golan tourism website
• Ein Nashut, video on YouTube