MADRID—Archaeologists in the southern Spanish town of Utrera had uncovered a 14th-century synagogue hidden within a building that was later converted into a church, hospital and most recently a bar.
Archaeologist Miguel Ángel de Dios told journalists that “the first thing to confirm is the presence of the prayer room” following years of analysis of the building’s walls and floor.
“The fundamental elements of the synagogue, such as the entrance hall,” he said, “or the perimeter benches that have emerged in this survey, now confirm that we are indeed in the prayer hall.”
The only hint of the Jewish temple’s existence came from a priest and historian, Rodrigo Caro, who wrote in 1604 that a hospital now stood on a site where Jews used to pray. There are a tiny handful of medieval synagogues surviving in Spain, including in the cities of Toledo and Cordoba….
RSS Feed | The Epoch Times