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Dates Excavated:
1. 1907
2. 1998
Excavator(s):
1. Heinrich Kohl and Carl Watzinger
2. Mordechai Aviam
Archaeological Information: /
Date of Building Construction:
late 5th century [771]
Place of Building in Settlement:
In the center of the main village of Bar’am [772]
Building Description:
This is a north-south basilica synagogue with two rows of six columns and a transverse row of two columns on the north side. According to Aviam, there was possibly also a transverse row of two columns on the south side, although Hachlili has suggested that the remains of the “stylobate” are the base of an aedicula. [773] The southern façade of the building is almost completely preserved: it had three door openings and in front a portico with eight columns. According to Aviam, this synagogue building had an earlier Phase that was smaller with a plaster floor. However, almost nothing of this Phase is preserved. The floor of the second Phase of the building was made of limestone flagstones.
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First Deposit
Date Excavated: 1998
Deposit Location:
Under the floor pavers
Archaeological Information:
Area A: between the central and eastern doorways along the southern wall. Contains loci 11 and 16
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
14 coins were found under the floor tiles in this area. No coins were found in areas where the floor tiles were missing. [775]
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
The excavations of the large synagogue at Bar’am were never published in a final excavation report. The only preliminary information on the coins can be found in a Hebrew article published by Danny Syon in 2007. After contacting Syon directly, I received a full analysis of the coins discovered in Area A; these have been used in this project. In Area A, 13 coins were found in Locus 11 and 1 in Locus 16, for a total of 14 coins. [776] They range from 317 CE to 346 CE, or a range of only 29 years, indicating that they were deposited at a single point shortly after 341-346 CE. All coins were minted at eastern mints, with the exception of 1 coin minted in Ticinum (follis of Crispus, 319-320 CE).
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Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Bar'am, Deposit 1. This table can be seen in full screen by clicking the icon on the bottom right. For more details on the specific coins in each row, please hover over the numbers.
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Second Deposit
Date Excavated: 1998
Deposit Location:
Under the floor pavers
Archaeological Information:
Area B: between the central and western doorways along the southern wall. Contains Loci B1 (or 10), B9, B16, B18, and 20.
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
25 coins were found in situ under the floor pavers using a metal detector. A layer of field stones covered the bedrock, to prepare the area for the floor pavers. In some places, remains of an earlier plaster floor could be seen lying on top of the fieldstones, upon which a layer of soil was found with the imprints of the floor pavers that used to lay on top of it. [777] The coins were only found in places that were still covered with floor pavers during the excavations. In the northeastern corner of Area B 15 more coins were found as one group (This is called “Locus 10, under paver B1” by Aviam, but “Locus B1” by Syon).[778]
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
According to the published reports, a total of 40 coins was found in Area B. However, the IAA only has 24 coins identified as coming from Area B: 2 from Locus 20, 15 from B1, 1 from B9, 5 from B16, and 1 from B18. This corresponds to the document I received from Danny Syon with the full analysis of the coins. It is unclear if there were originally more coins, some of which ended up being discarded (because they were illegible?), or if Aviam was mistaken in his publications. [779]
The bulk of the certain coins in Area B range from 317 CE to 341 CE, which is the same timespan as the coins coming from Area A. However, a couple of heavily worn coins could potentially be dated to 367-395 CE, significantly altering the final deposition date. These coins are much smaller and harder to read but have a Victory on the reverse side. One coin in this group is peculiar: a coin possibly minted by Macrinus in Tyre, dated to 217-218 CE. This is one of the few coins found at Bar’am that is older than the 4th century and one of only two coins minted by Macrinus found in ancient synagogue deposits (the other one is from Korazin).
Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Bar'am, Deposit 2. This table can be seen in full screen by clicking the icon on the bottom right. For more details on the specific coins in each row, please hover over the numbers.
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Third Deposit
Date Excavated: 1998
Deposit Location:
Under the floor pavers
Archaeological Information:
Area D: in the northwest corner of the hall. Contains Loci 42 and 43
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
32 bronze coins found with a metal detector. All the coins were found under pavers in the dark-brown layer of bedding. [780]
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
According to Aviam, 32 coins were found in Area D (see footnote 774), which corresponds to the number of coins analyzed by Danny Syon in his unpublished report. At the IAA, however, only 26 coins could be found as coming from Area D: 25 from Locus 42 and 1 from Locus 43. It is unclear what happened to the other seven, but they were probably not kept.[781]
The content of this deposit is slightly different. The bulk of the coins range from 364 to 450 CE, making this deposit significantly younger than the other two. However, a couple of coins are much older: a Seleucid coin, possibly minted in Tyre between 200 and 126 BCE, and an Antoninianus minted by Probus between 276 and 282 CE. This coin denomination, introduced by Caracalla in 215 CE, was originally in silver but by the end of the 3rd century was so debased that they were more or less entirely made of bronze (or bullion in this case: a bronze and silver mixture).[782] The coin discovered here weighs 3.65 grams and is marked with XXI on the reverse side, indicating that it was minted after Aurelian increased the weight of the Antoninianus in 271 CE. Its large size and heavy weight presumably would have been noticed by the user, but the fact that it was an older coin might have been the reason it was discarded and placed in the deposit. Two other Antoniniani, one minted by Probus and one by Claudius II Gothicus, were found in the nearby synagogue at Horvat Kur.[783]
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Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Bar'am, Deposit 3. This table can be seen in full screen by clicking the icon on the bottom right. For more details on the specific coins in each row, please hover over the numbers.
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References
Bibliography:
– Sukenik E.L., 1934, Ancient Synagogues in Palestine and Greece, London: The Oxford University Press, pp. 24-26
– Kohl H. & Watzinger C., 1975, Antike Synagogen in Galilaea, Reprint Osnabrück: Otto Zeller Verlag, pp. 89-100
– Chiat M., 1982, Handbook of Synagogue Architecture, Chico: Scholars Press, pp. 51-53
– Ilan Z., 1991, Ancient Synagogues in Israel, Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defence, pp. 22-24 (Hebrew)
– Avigad N., 1993, “Bar’am,” in: NEAEHL, pp. 147-149
– Aviam M., 2000, “Kefar Bar’am,” in: Hadashot Arkheologiyot, Vol. 111, pp. 4-6
– Aviam M., 2001, “The Ancient Synagogues at Bar’am,” in: Neusner J. & Avery-Peck A. (eds.), Judaism in Late Antiquity, Part Three, Volume 4: Where We Stand: Issues and Debates in Ancient Judaism, the Special Problem of the Synagogue, Leiden: Brill, pp. 155-176
– Frankel R. et al., 2001, Settlement Dynamics and Regional Diversity in Ancient Upper Galilee, Jerusalem: Israel Antiquities Authority, p. 37
– Aviam M., 2004, Jews, pagans, and Christians in the Galilee: 25 years of archaeological excavations and surveys: Hellenistic to Byzantine periods, Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, pp. 147-169
– Milson D., 2007, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Late Antique Palestine: in the Shadow of the Church, Leiden/Boston, pp. 311-312
– Syon D. 2007, “The Barʿam Synagogues: Numismatic Appendix,” in: Michmanim, Vol. 20, pp. 33-44 (Hebrew)
– Spigel C., 2012, Ancient Synagogue Seating Capacities: Methodology, Analysis and Limits, Mohr Siebeck, pp. 150-152
– Hachlili R., 2013, Ancient Synagogues: Archaeology and Art: New Discoveries and Current Research, Leiden: Brill, pp. 60-61, 127, 178, 225, 231, 277, 437, 471-475, 540
– Ahipaz N., 2015, The Custom of the Ritual Burial of Coins in Synagogues, MA thesis, pp. 75-77 (Hebrew)
Website(s):
– The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues Website:
http://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/baram/
– Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies:
https://www.chnt.at/photogramsmetric-modelling-and-digital-reconstruction-of-the-ancient-synagogue-in-the-national-park-of-baram/
– Virtual World Project:
http://moses.creighton.edu/vr/Baram/site.html
Footnotes
[770] In older publications, the site is sometimes called Kefr Bir’im, referring to the village in which the synagogue is located.
[771] Based on the excavated coins and pottery found under the floor. Kohl and Watzinger dated the building to the 2nd-3rd centuries on the basis of its architectural design. Aviam dates the building to the late 4th or 5th century. However, he mentions a coin minted by Theodosius II (401-450 CE) found in Area D and states that the latest pottery found in a sealed locus dates to the end of the 5th century. Based on this information, a late 5th century construction date has been chosen. It is important to note, however, that no official excavation report that contains a pottery and coin catalogue has been published.
[772] For an overview of the medieval visitors to the site and later surveys, see Kohl and Watzinger 1916, p. 89, Aviam 2001, pp. 155-157 and Aviam 2004, pp. 1-2. The smaller synagogue of Bar’am is located about 300 meters north of the larger one, near an Arab-Christian cemetery.
[773] Hachlili 2013, p. 60.
[774] It is not clear exactly how many coins were found under the floor of this synagogue. In his 2001 report, Aviam first mentions 25+16 coins found in Area B and 32 coins found in Area D. Together this makes 73 coins. However, in his analysis of the coins on p. 161 he mentions that in total only 72 bronze coins were found during excavations, three of which did not come from under the floor (these three were found outside the synagogue, in Areas E and F). The small group (which he calls a hoard) of coins coming from the northeast corner of Area B contains 15 only coins. In his 2004 article he mentions another 12 coins found under the floor pavers in Area A, which were missing from his 2001 report. He mentions one coin found dated to the mid-4th century in Area A in his analysis of the coins. It is thus unclear how many coins were found under the floor. In 2007, Danny Syon published a catalogue of the coins (Hebrew) in which he mentions 14 coins for Area A, 24 coins for Area B, and 31 coins for Area D (for 69 coins in total): he probably only mentions the legible coins. Hachlili 2013, p. 540 mentions 124 coins found under the floor of the synagogue but one would only reach this number by adding the three coins from outside the building, as well as the 45 coins that Syon mentions were found at the small synagogue outside the village.
[775] Personal communication Moti Aviam: all coins were found with the aid of a metal detector. He notes that all coins from Bar’am were found under floor pavers. In areas where the floor was missing (for example in the area of a potential bemah), not a single coin was discovered. He believes that the coins were only brought in when the floor was being laid.
[776] At the IAA as well, 14 coins were found coming from Area A. This contradicts Aviam’s article from 2004 which states that 12 coins were found here.
[777] Aviam 2001, p. 159. The coins were thus found between the old plaster floor and the new paved floor.
[778] Again, the numbers change according to the publication. Aviam 2001, p. 159 mentions 16 coins found in L 10, but on p. 161 he mentions 15 coins. Syon 2007 mentions 15 coins coming from L B1 and he does not mention a L 10. At the IAA, 15 coins could be found catalogued under L B1.
[779] Personal communication Aviam: all the coins were in excellent condition in the field (and were thus legible). Personal communication Syon: A total of 124 coins was found at the synagogue. Of those, only 7 were totally unidentifiable and 33 were worn and could only be dated to the late 4th-early 5th century CE, based on size, thickness, and texture.
[780] In the end, not all pavers were removed. There is a good chance that more coins can be found underneath the floor, scattered in a so-called coin layer (Personal communication Moti Aviam).
[781] Personal communication Donald Ariel.
[782] See Jones 1990, pp. 19-20, 41-42.
[783] Antoniniani have been found at other sites in Israel/Palestine and Syria, sometimes in large hoards, including at Capernaum, Beth She’an, and Tiberias. See Kool, 2016.