Decorated Stone Relief from Magdala Synagogue
Magdala (Migdal), 1st century CE
Replica courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority
A relief decorated with symbols and architectural motifs representing the Temple in Jerusalem. The stone was placed in the synagogue of the Jewish settlement Magdala, by the Sea of Galilee. It probably served for laying out the scrolls while reading the Torah. The face of the stone shows the Temple menorah above a schematic illustration of the altar. This is the most ancient depiction of the menorah to be found in a synagogue contemporary to the Temple in Jerusalem.
