Ancient Spanish church may very well be a synagogue

Archaeologists in Spain have theorised that ancient ruins, believed to have been a church, may very well be the stays of a Jewish synagogue.

A dig near Linares centring on what was once the Ibero-Roman town of Cástulo, has yielded various Jewish artefacts dating back to the fourth and fifth centuries AD. Among the findings were a roof tile and oil lamp fragments decorated with menorahs, the Guardian reports.

A stone lid with an inscription reading “Song to David” or possibly “light of forgiveness” – scholars are divided on the difficulty – has also been found.

The discoveries not only point to the existence of a previously unknown Jewish community within the region but forged doubt on the character of a ruined church excavated within the late Eighties.

Archaeologists Bautista Ceprían, David Expósito Mangas and José Carlos Ortega Díez, who’ve all been involved within the dig, argue that, based on the brand new findings and other evidence the church may in actual fact have been a synagogue.

One notable thing in regards to the church is the dearth of Christian artefacts found at the location and the absence of burials. While the ceremonial burial of the dead at a Christian church was common practice, Jewish law forbids the burial of the dead inside 50 metres of a residential area.

The archaeologists also argued that among the architectural features of the church and its overall design bore similarities to synagogues within the Holy Land.

Ceprián said, “When we checked out the inside of the constructing just a little more closely, there have been some strange things for a church; there was something that would have been the outlet for a giant menorah … It’s also strange that this constructing doesn’t have any tombs.”

He also noted, “Synagogues of that point may very well be more square in shape than Christian basilicas because in Jewish worship, there’s normally a central bimah [raised platform], which individuals sit around … In a church, the priest performs the rituals within the apse, which suggests things are more rectangular.”

Ceprián conceded that there’s currently no written historical evidence to support his theory, but stated that he and his colleagues had found enough material evidence to say the chance that the church was in actual fact a synagogue.

If it was indeed a synagogue, it will be the oldest specimen to be present in Spain.