Archaeologists Find Early Depiction of Menorah

By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer

Jerusalem – Israeli archaelogists have uncovered one of the earliest depictions of a menorah, the seven-branched candelabra that has come symbolize Judaism, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Friday. The menorah was engraved in stone around 2,000 years ago and found in a synagogue recently discovered by the Sea of Galilee.

Pottery, coins and tools found at the site indicate the synagogue dates to the period of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem, where the actual menorah was kept, said arhaelogist Dina Avahalom – Gomi of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The artist might have seen the menorah during a pilgrimage and then recreated it in the synagogue, she suggested.

A small number of depictions of the menorah have surfaced from the same period, she said, but this one was unique because it was inside a synagogue and far from Jerusalem, illustrating the link between Jews around Jerusalem and in the Galilee to the nort.

The menorah, depicted atop a pedestal with a triangular base, is carved on a stone which was placed in the synagogue’s central hall.

The tample in Jerusalem was destoyed by Roman legions in 70 A.D.. The Arch of Titus in Rome, erected to mark the Roman victory, depicts troops carrying the menorah from Jerusalem to symbolize the defeat of the Jews. The menorah became a Jewish symbol and is featured today on Israel’s official emblem.

Most other depictions of the menorah was made only after the tample’s destruction, and if this finding is indeed earlier it could be closer to the original, said Aren Maeir, an archaeology professor at Bar-llan University in Israel.

“If you have depiction of the menorah from the time of the tample, chances are it more accurate and potrays the actual object than potrayals from after destruction of the tample, when it was not existent,”he said.

The ancient prayer house was discovered in the town of Migdal, usually identified as the birthplace of the New Testament’s Mary Magdalena, whose name in thought to based on the town’s.