Umm el Kanatir
Encyclopedia
Um el Kanatir (Umm al-Qanāṭir) (ام القناطر) (lit. "mother of the arches") is an archaeological site in the Golan Heights. Archaeological excavations have revealed a Roman-era Jewish city and synagogue
.
The abundant, clean, spring water was the reason for the village's ancient industrial specialization in the production of fine, white linen cloth. The villagers also engaged in mixed farming, and raised sheep and olives.
It is believed that the income generated by the linen industry enabled the villagers to construct the very large sixth-century synagogue. Interestingly, the synagogue appears to have been built on the site of a more modest, fifth century synagogue. The large synagogue was destroyed the catastrophic Golan earthquake of 749. No remains of a Roman temple, church, or mosque have been uncovered.
The synagogue building was 18 meters (60 feet) long by 13 meters (43 feet) wide and calculated to have been 12 meters (40 feet) high, making it one of the largest ancient synagogues in the region.
Neither the synagogue nor the town were rebuilt after the earthquake of 749.
The synagogue was first identified by Laurence Oliphant and Gottlieb Schumacher
in 1884.
The surviving elements of the ancient synagogue are now being is now being carefully reconstructed by engineer Yeshu Drei and archeologist Haim Ben-David of the Kinneret Academic College and Bar-Ilan University
.
The two arches have been dubbed Rehavam Arcs after Rehavam Zeevi
.
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
.
History
The name was given by Arab shepherds who continued to make use of the site the water source, a spring that pours from the face of a cliff into three basins carved of stone in antiquity. Each of the basins was surmounted by a Roman monumental arch of cut basalt. It is assumed that the niches between the arches originally held pagan images of the spirit of the waters. Two of the arches are now in ruins, but one survives intact. They, and the village site, continued to be used into the modern period not as a town but by small numbers of local farmers and shepherds living amid and atop the ruins of the ancient town, sometimes in homes constructed out of ancient blocks of building stone reconstructed into farm houses.The abundant, clean, spring water was the reason for the village's ancient industrial specialization in the production of fine, white linen cloth. The villagers also engaged in mixed farming, and raised sheep and olives.
It is believed that the income generated by the linen industry enabled the villagers to construct the very large sixth-century synagogue. Interestingly, the synagogue appears to have been built on the site of a more modest, fifth century synagogue. The large synagogue was destroyed the catastrophic Golan earthquake of 749. No remains of a Roman temple, church, or mosque have been uncovered.
The synagogue building was 18 meters (60 feet) long by 13 meters (43 feet) wide and calculated to have been 12 meters (40 feet) high, making it one of the largest ancient synagogues in the region.
Neither the synagogue nor the town were rebuilt after the earthquake of 749.
The synagogue was first identified by Laurence Oliphant and Gottlieb Schumacher
Gottlieb Schumacher
Gottlieb Schumacher was a German-American civil engineer, architect and archaeologist who was an important figure in the early archaeological explorations of Palestine....
in 1884.
The surviving elements of the ancient synagogue are now being is now being carefully reconstructed by engineer Yeshu Drei and archeologist Haim Ben-David of the Kinneret Academic College and Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
.
The two arches have been dubbed Rehavam Arcs after Rehavam Zeevi
Rehavam Zeevi
' 20 June 1926 - 17 October 2001) was an Israeli general, politician, and historian who founded the right-wing nationalist Moledet party, mainly advocating population transfer....
.