Magdala, Israel
magdala stone
Archeologists discovered the engraved stone block known as the Magdala stone in the Israeli Migdal Synagogue. It is from before the Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70.
Detailed carvings of the Second Temple, created when the Temple was still standing and therefore thought to have been created by an artist who had seen the Temple before it was destroyed by the Roman army, are what makes it noteworthy. Some archaeologists say that the sculptures allow for a fresh, academic interpretation of the synagogue as a hallowed place even at the time the Temple was still standing. This new knowledge would disprove a long-standing academic consensus that synagogues were only assembly and study halls where the Torah and other holy writings were read aloud and studied, but not sacred places in and of themselves during the time when the Temple still existed.
Project objectives
2D/3D Print
high resolution scanning
(2022-2023)
Client
Israel Antiquities Authority
Magdala