Ein Gedi - A Very Larg Village of Jews |
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Archaeological
evidence has
revealed that human
activity first began in the desert oasis of Ein
Gedi thousands of years ago because of its
unique
qualities, in particular its copious water sources. Archaeological
excavations
and surveys at the site were initiated in 1949 with the sounding and
survey
conducted by Benjamin Mazar. Yohanon
Aharoni and Joseph Naveh
carried out additional surveys there in the 1950s, and large-scale
excavations,
directed by Mazar on behalf of the Hebrew
University
of Jerusalem and the Israel Exploration Society, took place in the
1960s. These
excavations uncovered a Chalcolithic compound on the mountain terrace
above Ein Gedi,
the remains of
settlements from the Israelite to the Byzantine periods at Tel Goren,
and a
Roman bathhouse in the middle of the plain between Naḥal David and Naḥal
‘Arugot. From
1970-1972, the various phases of a synagogue dating to the
Roman-Byzantine
period were revealed in excavations directed by Dan Barag
of the
The present exhibition, whose curator is Yizhar
Hirschfeld, focuses on his
excavations within the Jewish settlement, in particular the finds
uncovered in
the residential quarters in the vicinity of the synagogue.
| The exhibition also displays
finds from the synagogue
itself – a seven –branched menorah, a bronze goblet, and a
fragment of a
mosaic floor that contains a dedicatory inscription in Aramaic
mentioning all
the inhabitants of Carta (the town)
and
Jonathan the Hazan, who paid their share
to repair
the synagogue. This inscription is displayed here for the first time
for the
general public. A significant portion of the exhibition is dedicated to
the
finds from the Roman tombs, enabling a closer look at the burial
customs of the
inhabitants of the oasis The seven-branched menorah and the goblet-shaped vessel discovered in the synagogue courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority |
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The
name of the exhibition, “Ein
Gedi – A Very Large Village of Jews,” was
inspired by
the words of Eusebius, one of the Church fathers, who in the 4th
century CE
wrote in his work The Onomasticon:
“Now
it is a very large village of Jews, Engaddi,
lying
beside the Dead Sea, from which balsam comes." (The
Onomasticon
by Eusebius of Caesarea,
translated by G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville,
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We wish to thank the curator of
the exhibition, Prof. Yizhar Hirschfeld, who greatly
assisted in “raising” the Jewish settlement of the Mishnah
and Talmud periods in the desert oasis of Ein
Gedi to the top of the Our gratitude is extended to the staff of the Israel Antiquities Authority: Hava Katz, Michael Sabanne, Orit Shamir, Adi Ziv-Sodri, Donald Ariel, and Robert Kool; h |
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to
Pinchas Peled,
who constructed the model of the Ein
Gedi settlement, and Malcha
Mossberg, a volunteer who helped him; to Daphna Zoran
of the Archaeological Institute of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem;
and to Dudi Mevorach
of the Israel
Museum. Thanks are also due the Department of Museums of the Israel
Ministry of
Education and the management of the Hecht Foundation.
The exhibition and its catalog will, we are sure,
provide an opportunity for the interested public to expand its
knowledge and
enjoy the archaeological discoveries that have enabled the telling of
the
exciting story of the Jewish community of Ein
Gedi in the first half of the 1st
millennium CE.
Museum Director and Curator
 Iron chisel for pruning palm tree branches The photos
courtesy of the
Israel Antiquities Authority |
 Lamp decorated with animals  Hoard of five gold coins discovered together with Byzantine oil lamps |
 Bone dice
 Clay mirror frames |