Ed-Dikke synagogue explained

Ancient synagogue (Khirbet ed-Dikke)
Map Type:	Syria Golan
Relief:	1
Map Size:	200
Coordinates:	32.922°N 35.6258°W
Built:	c. 460 CE
Excavations:	1905
Archaeologists:	Gottlieb Schumacher H. Kohl & C. Watzinger
Condition:	ruin

The ed-Dikke Synagogue, located 3 km north of the Sea of Galilee on the eastern bank of the Jordan River in what are the Golan Heights (Jaulan), was an ancient synagogue dating from around the 5th century CE.^[1]

History

The synagogue, located at a site known as Khirbet ed-Dikke, was first identified by Gottlieb Schumacher in the 1880s.^{[2] [3]} In 1905, Heinrich Kohl and Carl Watzinger briefly investigated the site.^[4]

The building is thought to date from c. 460 CE^[5] and consists of a prayer hall measuring approx. 110NaN0 by 140NaN0. It was divided into three aisles by two rows of four columns each.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Khirbet Dikke and the Synagogues in and around Bethsaida Valley (Archaostyle Scientific Series 7), Qazrin 2009: Archaostyle (191 pp; 58 illustrations; 1 map)
2. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0017_0_16388.html Ramat Ha-Golan
3. Book: G.. Schumacher . Gottlieb Schumacher . The Jaulân: surveyed for the German Society for the Exploration of the Holy Land. 1888. London. R. Bentley . 120–123.
4. Book: Michael Avi-Yonah . Encyclopedia of archaeological excavations in the Holy Land . 3 October 2010 . 1978 . Prentice-Hall . 978-0-13-275123-0 . 457.
5. Milson, D., "Byzantine Architects at Work at Herodium, Palaestina Prima", LA 39 (1989) 209.
6. Book: Günter Stemberger . Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the fourth century . 3 October 2010 . 2000 . Continuum International Publishing Group . 978-0-567-08699-0 . 131.