Download Spreadsheet:
Dates Excavated:
1. 1905-1907
2. 1905-1914
3. 1921-1926
4. 1968-1986 and 2000-2003
Excavator(s):
1. Heinrich Kohl and Carl Watzinger
2. Wendelin Hinterkeuser
3. Gaudenzio Orfali
4. Virgilio Corbo and Stanislao Loffreda
Archaeological Information: Area 12
Date of Building Construction:
early 6th century [858]
Place of Building in Settlement:
Built on top of a platform in the center of the town, surrounded by four streets. [859]
Building Description:
A basilica with two rows of seven columns and a transverse row of two columns in the north on raised stylobates. There were two tiers of benches along the east and west walls. Three entrances were located in the south wall. Another entrance in the north wall led to a small room in the back, while a door in the east wall led to a large, columned courtyard with a stone pavement. This trapezium-shaped courtyard could be entered from two entrances in the south wall and three in the north. Windows were found in the east wall. Inside the building, two platforms flanked the central entrance by the south wall. Various decorative elements were also discovered, carved in stone, as well as dedicatory inscriptions in Aramaic and Greek. The floor was covered in stone slabs of which patches were preserved. The entire building was made out of white limestone on top of a basalt raised platform, making the building stand out next to the black, basalt houses surrounding it.
Underneath the synagogue, three strata were discerned by the excavators: Stratum A: Structures (most likely private houses) underneath the synagogue platform; Stratum B: An artificial platform of, at some places, 3 meters high, filled with basalt stones, earth, ashes, and a great number of broken vessels; stratum C: A layer on average 30 cm thick, consisting of white mortar on top of the platform, on which the synagogue building and its benches were set.
Maps and Plans
Other Materials
First Deposit
Date Excavated: 1971 [860]
Deposit Location:
Inside the synagogue, on the south side of the western aisle, just in front of the western entrance in the southern wall (Trench XIV).
Archaeological Information:
Area 12; Trench XIV; Locus 814; Stratum C
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
2922 coins were found on the south side of the western aisle, just inside the western entrance.[861] They were discovered in only one square meter, on top of the mortar, underneath one single stone. They were not deeply embedded in the mortar. Many of them had a patina of the same mortar, however, and it can thus be assumed that they were put in place while the mortar was still soft (and thus formed an integral part of the bedding).[862]
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
Although the thousands of coins found in the Capernaum synagogue sparked the conversation on coin deposits found in ancient synagogues (see chaper 1), they still have not been analyzed and published in full. The Franciscan Printing Press in Jerusalem published nine books between 1974 and 2008 dedicated to the excavations of the village and its finds (Cafarnao I-IX), but a publication on the coins found in the synagogue building is still lacking.[863] For the moment, the coins are stored in the caveau of a Franciscan convent (so no longer at the Flagellation Museum in Jerusalem where they were kept at first), and are not accessible to the public or available for research. Research and publication rights have been given to Bruno Callgher and Ermanno Arslan, who have been publishing preliminary reports on selected subgroups of coins found in the building over the past years.[864] At this point, all the approximately 25,000 coins have been scanned, with 5-6 coins on each scan, obverse and reverse.[865] Callegher is currently cutting all the scans up into individual coin images and entering their metrological data and LRBC parallels. The coins themselves have been weighed, measured, and their axis noted, and they have been stored in paper bags. This process has taken years and Callegher is currently looking for funding to continue the process and publish the coins.
This said, some information on the coins can be deduced from the dozens of articles that have been published since the 1960s. As for the 2922 coins found in Locus 814, in 1972 Loffreda published that they date mostly to the end of the 4th and beginning of 5th century, and were minted under Honorius, Arcadius, Theodosius, Valentinianus, and Eudoxia, with less frequent coins of Constantine and his sons.[866] However, Loffreda does not tell us which coins are from which emperor, nor do we have any other identification details. Arslan eventually published multiple tables on the Stratum C deposit found in Trench XIV in his 1997 publication, providing information on 739 legible coins from the deposit, dated between 335 and 491 CE.[867] It is not known, however, if the group also contained earlier and later coins, and we still lack a full analysis of each coin. The information given here in Fig. 30 is the data that can be provided at this point.[868]
Other Images
Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Capernaum, 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.
Download Spreadsheet:
Second Deposit
Date Excavated: 1971
Deposit Location:
Underneath the side benches
Archaeological Information:
Area 12, Trench XVII, L817
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
67 bronze coins and five gold coins were found under side benches of the prayer hall. [869] Only six coins were embedded in the foundation of the benches, on the southeast side of the hall; the others were lying on top of the bench foundations. The five gold coins were found together, under the eastern benches, still in situ near the doorway leading from the synagogue hall to the courtyard.
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
According to preliminary identifications by Fr. Spijkerman and published by Loffreda in 1972, one coin of this deposit belongs to Constantine, one to Constantius II, one to Honorius, one to Arcadius, and two to the 4th century (with identification undecided). [870] The five gold coins are dated to the late 7th century. Unfortunately, this is all the information we have on this group.
Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Capernaum, 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.
Download Spreadsheet:
Third Deposit
Date Excavated: 1968-1986
Deposit Location:
In Stratum C, in various locations in the synagogue building where the stone pavement was missing: [871] between the north wall and the northern stylobate (Trench II), in the main hall (Trenches XX, XXII, XXIV, and XXV), on the south side of the eastern aisle (Trench XVII), and in the northern area of the western aisle (Trench XXI).
Archaeological Information:
Area 12; Trench II, Trench XVII, Trench XX, Trench XXI, Trench XXII, Trench XXIV, Trench XXV; L802, L817, L820, L821, L822, L824, L825; Stratum C
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
In stratum C of Trench II, 89 coins were discovered. Some Roman coins were laid in the loose dirt near the top, but deeper down the coins were still encrusted with white mortar. [872] The greatest concentration was found near the northeast corner of the trench, where 63 coins were found together. In Trench XVII a total of 67 coins was exposed: 21 were found in the mortar of the side benches (see above) and 46 were stuck in the mortar bed of the floor, where the stone pavement was missing. Last, in Trench XXI, 43 coins were found and in an expansion of Trench XXV, 71 more coins. It is unclear how many coins were found in Trenches XX, XXII, and XXIV. [873]
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
According to Loffreda, the coins embedded in the thick layer of mortar in Trench II belong to the emperors of the 4th century: Constantine, Constantius II, Constantius Gallus, Julianus, and Valentinianus. [874] The latest coin of Valentinianus (383 CE) gives a terminus post quem for the deposit. 87 of these coins were described by Spijkerman in a numismatic report in 1970 (pp. 128-135), and he dates the coins ranging from 119-120 CE (Trajan) until 383 (Valentinian I). Fig. 32 gives an overview of the information we know on the coins from Loci 802, 811, and 817, for a total of 178 coins. Almost all the coins were struck in eastern mints, with the exception of one coin minted in Rome (Theodosius I, 378-383 CE). Possibly all 32 coins of Constantius II are of the FEL TEMP Fallen horseman type.
Other Images
Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Capernaum, 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.
Download Spreadsheet:
Fourth Deposit
Date Excavated: 1968-1986
Deposit Location:
In Stratum C, in various locations under the eastern courtyard pavement: In the southeastern corner of the courtyard (Trench IV) and in the northeastern corner of the columned area (Trench XXIII)
Archaeological Information:
Area 12; Trench IV, Trench XXIII; L804, L823
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
In Trench IV, 11 coins were found in stratum C, only one of which had traces of lime mortar still attached. In Trench XXIII, only 9 coins were found. The excavators believe that this northern area of the courtyard was the space where “the mortar was prepared for the final setting of the stone pavement of the courtyard.” [875]
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
We do not have a lot of information on the coins found in these loci. Spijkerman 1970 includes four coins of Trench IV in his report. Of these, one was minted in Nicomedia (341-346 CE), one was minted by Constantius II (date and place unknown, Fallen horseman type), one was minted by Commodus (Gadara, 179-180 CE), and one is a Late Roman unknown coin.
Other Images
Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Capernaum, Deposit 4. 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.
Download Spreadsheet:
Fifth Deposit
Date Excavated: 1974
Deposit Location:
Inside the synagogue, on the south side of the western aisle, just in front of the western entrance in the south wall (Trench XIV).
Archaeological Information:
Area 12; Trench XIV; L814, Stratum B
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
236 coins were found sealed in Stratum B, in the southwest corner of the synagogue building. [876] The coins were found in the whole depth of the fill.
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
According to Loffreda 1997 and Callegher 2016, 236 bronze coins were found in Trench XIV (Locus 814). The coins were discovered throughout the whole depth of the fill. This number is confusing, however. In 1997, Arslan published several tables on Trench IV. On page 260, he published a conspectus of 739 coins, all coming from Trench XIV, but only the ones dated between 335 and 491 CE. [877] On the next page, he published a conspectus of 148 coins found in Trench XIV and Trench XVIII. [878] In this mixed table, it is not clear which coins come from which trench, and he also only gives the coins with mintmarks dated between 335 and 491 CE. Because the coins given by Arslan could have been coming from different loci, or strata, I am following Loffreda’s and Callegher’s information on 236 coins in this database.
Other Images
Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Capernaum, Deposit 5. 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.
Download Spreadsheet:
Sixth Deposit
Date Excavated: 1975
Deposit Location:
Under the “balcony” of the synagogue, on the south side outside the synagogue building, in front of the most eastern entrance to the building, as well as in front of the courtyard (Trench XVIII).
Archaeological Information:
Area 12; Trench XVIII; L818; Stratum B
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
This artificial trench includes a part of the foundation of the stairs on the southeast side of the building, as well as an area in front of the eastern courtyard, and the entire area in front of the east aisle of the synagogue. Here, there was no Stratum C mortar layer. Stratum B here also contained many more pieces of white stone chips than elsewhere in the building. 570 coins were found in the fill throughout the depth of Stratum B, until the appearance of the flooring of Stratum A. Ten coins were found in the fill of the southeast stairway. [879]
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
In 1997, Arslan published a conspectus of 148 coins found in Trenches XIV and XVIII.[880] Unfortunately, it is not clear which coins come from which trench, and he also only gives the coins with mintmarks dated between 335 and 491 CE.[881] For this database, I am following the information from Loffreda that 580 coins were found in this trench.[882]
Other Images
Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Capernaum, Deposit 6. 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.
Download Spreadsheet:
Seventh Deposit
Date Excavated: 1972/1975
Deposit Location:
Archaeological Information:
Area 12; Trench XII; L812
Certain association with the building itself? Yes
Deposit Retrievable? No
Deposit Type: IB6
Deposit Description:
In Trench XII, after removing three large slabs and eight medium sized ones, 6000 coins were discovered. When the trench was enlarged three years later, another “19 kilograms” of coins were found.[883] After cleaning, a total of 20,323 coins were counted coming from Trench XII. In this trench, not one, but two levels of mortar could be discerned, one on top of the other, and the coins were spread out between the upper layer and slabs of the floor, as well as between the first and second mortar level. After analyzing the layers, the excavators concluded that they were put in together to form the base for the courtyard and that the coins thus belong together.[884]
Container Present? No
Description of Coins:
This deposit is the largest group of coins found in the synagogue at Capernaum. Not surprisingly, the numismatists working on the coin material have been struggling to work through it. Because of the high volume, it was impossible to classify quickly all the specimens found, and Arslan and Callegher instead chose to select a subset of coins and to publish a report according to a procedure based on statistical methods: the idea that a smaller subset would be a pars pro toto representation of the entire deposit.[885] Of the 20,323 coins, it was determined that only 63% of the coins could be read,[886] and that larger coins, like imperial coins from the 1st to 3rd century, were better preserved than the poorly-made 4th and 5th century coins and would thus receive more attention.[887]
In 1997, a catalogue of 3058 specimen of this deposit (or 15% of the total) was published by Ermanno Arslan, however, 1133 of those are indicated as illegible.[888] 21 Axumite coins were published by Arslan in 1996 and some “Isis” coins from Alexandria in 2003. Callegher published another 182 coins in 2016, consisting of the imitations and proto-Vandalic nummi found in the deposit.[889] One problem I encountered going through these coins is that it is unclear if there is any overlap between these published coins. For this database, I am assuming there is not, and that every published coin has so far only been published once; thus, information on a total of 3287 coins has been provided here.
As Callegher notes on p. 157 of his 2016 publication, there are several trends that can be noticed in this large deposit. First, there is a sizeable group of coins (of which 75 in the database here provided) minted between the 2nd century BCE and the mid-4th century CE (Ptolemaic coins, Hasmonean, coins by Roman procurators, Roman provincial coins, Antoniniani, and Constantinian folles). Subsequently, there is a significant quantity of issues of types struck between 350 and 363 CE (of which 152 in our database), like the FEL TEMP REPARATIO coins, SPES REIPVBLICE coins, SECVRITAS REIPVBLICAE coins, and VOTA coins; and coins struck towards the end of the 4th century CE (of which 646 here provided in the database). According to Callegher, 55% of the coins in the deposit can be dated to the second half of the 4th century (in our database, 24% can be dated to this period). In the 5th century, there is a progressive decline of coin issues (according to Callegher, from 48% in the 395-425 CE period to circa 21% in the 425-457 CE period and 8% in the 457-491 CE period). In our database, there are 740 coins from 395-425 CE (22.5%), 354 coins of 425-457 CE (11%), and 268 from the 457-491 CE period (8%). Callegher also notes that about 1.5 to 2 per cent of the legible coins are imitations and states that, in contrast to Arslan’s opinion, there are cast or blank flans among the group. In our database, the latest certain coins can be dated to Zeno (476-491 CE).[890] The Axumite coins have been dated by Arslan to the third quarter of the 5th century to the third quarter of the 6th century.[891] Most of the coins were minted in eastern mints, although for the majority of the coins, it is hard to say exactly at which mint. In his 2003 article, Arslan divides the coins found at Capernaum into different types. For the coins from Trench XII, he indicates that 219 are of the Cross in Wreath type (11.37% of the 1926 legible coins, with most legible coins coming from Cyzicus, Antioch, and Constantinople), 72 are minimi of Marcian (3.8% of total, most coming from Constantinople and Nicomedia), and 148 are minimi of Leo (7.7% of total, most from Constantinople). He also weighted the coins, indicating that the Cross in Wreath coins have an average weight of 0.978 grams (with a large peak between 0.93 and 0.98 grams, and a small peak between 1.11 and 1.16 grams); the Marian minimi have an average weight of 0.924 grams (with a peak at 0.87-0.92 grams, and one at 1.11-1.16 grams); and the Leo minimi have an average weight of 0.937 grams (with a peak at 0.93-0.98 grams, and one at 1.05-1.10 grams).[892] A conspectus of all the information gathered on the Trench XII coins from the various publications can be found in fig. 36.
Conspectus Table:
Conspectus table Capernaum, Deposit 7. 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.
Download Spreadsheet:
References
Bibliography:
– Orfali P.G., 1922, Capharnaum et ses Ruines, d’après les Fouilles Accomplies à Tell-Houm par la Custodie Franciscaine de Terre Sainte, Paris: Auguste Picard
– Sukenik E.L., 1934, Ancient Synagogues in Palestine and Greece, London: The Oxford University Press, pp. 7-21
– Corbo V & Loffreda S., 1970, La Sinagoga di Cafarnao dopo gli scavi del 1969, Jerusalem: Tip. dei PP. Francescani
– Spijkerman A., 1970, “Monete della sinagoga di Cafarna””, in: La Sinagoga di Cafarnao dopo gli scavi del 1969, pp. 125-139
– Foerster G., 1971, “Notes on Recent Excavations at Capernaum (Review Article),” in: Israel Exploration Journal, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 207-211
– Loffreda S., 1972, “The Synagogue of Capernaum, Archaeological Evidence for its Late Chronology,” in: Liber Annuus, vol. 22, pp. 5-29
– Loffreda S., 1974, Cafarnao II. La Ceramica, Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press
– Kohl H. & Watzinger C., 1975, Antike Synagogen in Galilaea, Reprint Osnabrück: Otto Zeller Verlag, pp. 4-40
– Corbo V., 1975, Cafarnao I. Gli Edifici della Città, Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press
– Spijkerman A., 1975, Cafarnao III. Le Monete della Città, Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press
– Loffreda S., 1976, Ein Besuch in Kapharnaum, Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press
– Hüttenmeister F. & Reeg G., 1977, Die Antiken Synagogen in Israel, 2 vols., Wiesbaden: L. Reichert, pp. 260-270
– Loffreda S., 1979, “Potsherds from a Sealed Level of the Synagogue at Capernaum,” in: Liber Annuus, vol. 39, pp. 215-220
– Avi-Yonah M., 1981, “Some comments on the Chronology of the Synagogue at Capernaum,” in: Levine L. (ed.), Ancient Synagogues Revealed, Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society, pp. 60-62
– Foerster G., 1981b, “Notes on Recent Excavations at Capernaum,” in: Ancient Synagogues Revealed, pp. 57-59
– Loffreda S., 1981, “The Late Chronology of the synagogue at Capernaum,” in: Levine L. (ed.), Ancient Synagogues Revealed, Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society, pp. 52-56
– Chiat M., 1982, Handbook of Synagogue Architecture, Chico: Scholars Press, pp. 89-97
– Tzaferis V., 1983, “New Archaeological Evidence on Ancient Capernaum,” in: The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 46, No. 4, pp. 198-204
– Loffreda S., 1985, Recovering Capharnaum, Jerusalem: Edizioni Custodi Terra Santa (Reprint 1993 and 1997: Franciscan Printing Press)
– Doron C., 1986, “On the Chronology of the Ancient Synagogue of Capernaum,” in: Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins, Vol. 102, pp. 134-143
– Tzaferis V., 1989, Excavations at Capernaum, Vol. 1 1978-1982, Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns
– Ilan Z., 1991, Ancient Synagogues in Israel, Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defence, p. 156-158 (Hebrew)
– Tzaferis V. & Loffreda S., 1993, “Capernaum,” in: NEAEHL, pp. 291-296
– Arslan E.A., 1996, “Monete Axumite di Imitazione nel Deposito del Cortile della Sinagoga di Cafarnao”, in: Liber Annuus, Vol. 46, pp. 307-316
– Arslan E.A., 1996, “Il Deposito di 20.323 Nummi tardo-romani della Sinagoga di Cafarnao: come procedure a un Campionamento Scientifico,” in: International Numismatic Newsletter, Vol. 29, pp. 6-7
– Arslan E.A., 1997, “Il deposito monetale della Trincea XII nel cortile della sinagoga di Cafarnao,” in: Liber Annuus, vol. 47, pp. 245-328
– Callegher B., 1997, “Un Ripostiglio di Monete d’Oro Bizantine dalla Sinagoga di Cafarnao,” in: Liber Annuus, Vol. 47, pp. 329-338
– Loffreda S., 1997, “Coins from the Synagogue of Capharnaum,” in: Liber Annuus, Vol. 47, pp. 223-244
– Dauphin C. 1998, La Palestine Byzantine: Peuplement et Population, Oxford, Vol. 3, pp. 710-711
– Magness J., 2001, “The Question of the Synagogue: The Problem of Typology,” in: Avery-Peck A.J. & Neusner J. (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. 1-49
– Arslan A., 2003, “Problemi ponderali di V secolo: verso la riforma del Nummus. Il deposito di Cafranao,” in: Revue Numismatique, Vol. 159, pp. 27-39
– Loffreda S., 2005, Cafarnao V. Documentazione fotografica degli scavi (1968-2003), Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press Milson D., 2007, Art and Architecture of the Synagogue in Late Antique Palestine: in the Shadow of the Church, Leiden/Boston, pp. 335-337
– Callegher B., 2007, Cafarnao IX. Monete dell’area urbana di Cafarnao (1968-2003), Jerusalem: Ed. Terra Santa
– Loffreda S., 2008, Cafarnao VI. Tipologie e contesti stratigrafici della ceramica (1968-2003), Jerusalem: Ed. Terra Santa
– Loffreda S., 2008, Cafarnao VII. Documentazione grafica della ceramica (1968-2003), Jerusalem: Ed. Terra Santa
– Loffreda S., 2008, Cafarnao VIII. Documentazione fotografica degli oggetti (1968-2003), Jerusalem: Ed. Terra Santa
– Arslan E., 2011, “The L812 Trench Deposit inside the Synagogue and the Isolated Finds of Coins in Capernaum, Israel: a Comparison of the Two Groups”, in: Israel Numismatic Research, Vol. 6, pp. 147-162
– Magness J., 2012, “The Pottery from the Village of Capernaum and the Chronology of Galilean Synagogues,” in: Tel Aviv, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 110-122
– Spigel C., 2012, Ancient Synagogue Seating Capacities: Methodology, Analysis and Limits, Mohr Siebeck, pp. 173-177
– Hachlili R., 2013, Ancient Synagogues: Archaeology and Art: New Discoveries and Current Research, Leiden: Brill, pp. 23-26, 61-63, 127, 235-239, 483-485
– Ahipaz N., 2015, The Custom of the Ritual Burial of Coins in Synagogues, MA thesis, pp. 61-66 (Hebrew)
– Callegher B., 2016, “Imitations and Proto-Vandalic Nummi in the Circulating Stock in Upper Gallilee between the End of the 5th and Early 6th Century: The Capernaum Deposit (Locus 812),” in: Produktion und Recyceln von Münzen in der Spätantike, RGZM-Tagungen, Vol. 29, pp. 155-196
– Arslan E., 2015, “Problemi di Documentazione preliminare e Finale dei Ritrovamenti Monetary con Grandi Numeri. Due Esperienze: il Ripostiglio di Biassono 1975 e il “Deposito” della Sinagoga di Cafarnao (Israele),” in: Garraffo S.and M. Mazza (eds.), Il Tesorodi Misurata (Libia), pp. 113-127
– Tarkhanova S., 2021, “The Friezes with the “Peopled Scrolls” Motif in the Capernaum Synagogue,” in: Bonnie, Rick, Raimo Hakola, and Ulla Tervahauta (eds.), The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pp. 195-218
Website(s):
– The Bornblum Eretz Israel Synagogues Website:
http://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/capernaum/
– Sanctuary Capernaum:
http://www.capernaum.custodia.org
– Bible Walks:
https://biblewalks.com/Sites/Capernaum.html
– Virtual World Project
http://moses.creighton.edu/vr/Capernaum/site.html
Footnotes
[857] In older publications, the site is sometimes called Tell Hûm.
[858] This date is based on Jodi Magness’ re-evaluation of the pottery and coins found under the building (Magness 2001, pp. 18-26; Magness 2012a). She rightly points out that the excavators, who date the building to the late 4nd to 5rd century, were providing a terminus ante quem for the archaeological finds, instead of a terminus post quem (Loffreda 1979; Loffreda 1981). Since pieces of pottery and hundreds of coins have been found that can be dated to the first half of the 6th century, the synagogue could not have been built earlier than the beginning of the 6th century CE. This date has recently been confirmed by Callegher, who, based on an analysis of the imitation and proto-vandalic nummi coins from Locus 812 in the synagogue, admits that this deposit found was probably closed sometime between 508 and 512 CE (Callegher 2016, p. 166). See also Tarkhanova 2021 for a stylistic confirmation of this date.
[859] The first explorations of the synagogue were conducted by Edward Robinson in 1857, Charles Wilson in 1866, and Victor Guérin in 1870. In 1894, the site and its ruins were acquired by Brother Giuseppe Baldi on behalf of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. Excavations started in 1905 both by the German scholars Heinrich Kohl and Carl Watzinger, and the Franciscan Wendelin Hinterkeuser. From 1921 to 1926 the Franciscan monk Gaudenzio Orfali excavated the church at Capernaum and reconstructed a small part of the synagogue. In 1968, the Franciscan fathers Corbo and Loffreda resumed excavations and dug under the floor of the building, revealing thousands of coins (Kohl and Watzinger 1916, pp. 4-5; Sapir and Neeman 1967, pp. 34-37; Loffreda 1976, pp. 10-11; Tzaferis 1989, pp. XVII-XIX; Loffreda 1993, pp. 10-13; Tarkhanova 2021).
[860] Loffreda 1972, p. 9: “In the same year 1971 we cleared the entire area of the eastern aisle where the stone pavement was missing. We reached only the level of the mortar underlying the original stone pavement. Most of the area of the western aisle was also cleared to the same depth.” Loffreda 1997, p. 226: “There we collected 2,922 coins. It was Saturday, September 18, 1971.”
[861] Loffreda 1972, p. 15; Loffreda 1997, p. 226; Callegher 2016, p. 155.
[862] Loffreda 1972, p. 15: It must be stressed that several coins were still embedded in the thick layer of mortar at the time of excavation.
[863] The Cafarnao III book, published by Augustus Spijkerman, only discusses the coins found in the village and the insula sacra.
[864] For this project, I have been in close contact with Bruno Callegher to work through the available information on the Capernaum coins. At some point, Callegher took it upon himself to travel by train from Tieste to Milan to meet Arslan and discuss if they could give me full access to the coins. It was decided that they could not, but I want to express my deepest gratitude for such an extraordinary effort.
[865] Personal communication Callegher. See also Arslan 2011, p. 147, footnote 3, in which he states that he is cataloguing the coins from the entire synagogue, excluding the ones found in Locus 812, while awaiting final publication; and Callegher 2016, footnote 19, in which he notes that the complete photographic campaign was conducted in 2011-2012 with a high-definition scanner (Coin Cabinet SBF-Jerusalem).
[866] Loffreda 1972, p. 15.
[867] Arslan 1997, p. 253, Table III and p. 260, Table V: overview of the minting places (and dates) of 739 coins found in Trench XIV, dated between 335 and 491 CE; p. 261, Table VI: overview of the dates and minting places of 148 coins found in both Trenches XIV and XVIII, dated between 335 and 491 CE.
[868] Arslan 2003, p. 29 mentions that 1616 coins of Trench XIV have been published but I could not identify with certainty those coming from Stratum C or Stratum B in the 1997 publication, if this is indeed the publication to which he is referring.
[869] Loffreda 1972, p. 16. These were not the only gold coins found in the synagogue; according to a publication by Callegher in 1997, 5 solidi and 2 tremisses were found in area S.146 in the synagogue, and another 2 gold coins attributed to Justin II were discovered out of context (Callegher 1997, p. 330). It is not clear, however, where area S.146 is located and if these coins were found under the floor or benches.
[870] Loffreda 1972, p. 16.
[871] All these coins come from an “open level”: areas inside the synagogue building where the stone slabs of the floor were missing (but the bedding was still intact: many of the coins were found in the mortar, showing that they were placed there when the mortar was still fresh). Since only small patches of the ancient stone pavement were preserved inside the building, the excavators did not want to remove and “sacrifice” these stones to look for more coins. Instead, they removed some of the stone pavement of the courtyard where the floor was well preserved (Loffreda 1997, p. 227). Because of this, we do not know if and how many coins are still preserved under the floor of the synagogue.
[872] Spijkerman 1970, pp. 128-135. In 1997, however, Loffreda wrote that there were 86 coins found in Trench II (Loffreda 1997, p. 226).
[873] Loffreda 1997, p. 227: “Later on in 1981 we found also coins in this section, when we opened Trenches 20, 22, 24, 25.”
[874] Loffreda 1972, p. 15.
[875] Loffreda 1979, pp. 215-216.
[876] Callegher 2016, p. 155.
[877] Arslan 1997, p. 260, Table V.
[878] Arslan 1997, p. 261, Table VI.
[879] Loffreda 1997, p. 229. They set aside eight coins found in the first 40 cm beginning from the surface because of the possibility of contamination from above. To be complete, one must point out that Trenches XIV and XVIII were not the only two areas where coins were found in Stratum B. Trench 1 contained one coin, Trench 4 three coins, Trench 11 two coins, Trench 17 one coin, Trench 21 two coins, Trench 22 one coin, Trench 23 nine coins, and Trench 25 three coins. However, none of these finds makes up a “deposit”, and they could have been accidental losses or contaminations.
[880] Arslan 1997, p. 261. The same is true for his 2003 publication, in which he gives an overview of different coin types found at Capernaum but collapses the Stratum B and Stratum C coins found in Trench XIV into one group.
[881] In any case, because the trench was chosen randomly, the coins are presumably part of larger assemblies.
[882] This number, however, is far from clear as Arslan notes in 2015 that only 511 coins from Trench XVIII could be found at the Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem (Arslan 2015, p. 117, footnote 17).
[883] Loffreda 1997, p. 227.
[884] Loffreda 1997, p. 227.
[885] Arslan 1996; 1997; Callegher 2007, p. 147; Arslan 2015 which focuses entirely on the difficulty of documenting very large coin finds, with Capernaum as one of the case-studies.
[886] Arslan 1997, p. 251; Arslan 2011, p. 151: here he also states that he did not find any so-called “blank flans” among the synagogue coins, in contrast to the coins found in the settlement at Capernaum. These 37% illegible coins were identified long before the scanning project by Callegher and now are unfortunately lost: they were almost all reburied at the time of the excavations and are no longer recoverable (Arslan 2015, p. 117, footnote 17).
[887] This number of 20,323 has recently been contested by Arslan, who found 20,363 coins and fragmentary coins from this trench at the Custody of the Holy Land in Jerusalem. He also proposes the possibility that the building context of the coins in this trench had been contaminated by later materials. However, as 20,323 is still the number that can be found in the literature on this deposit, and Arslan admits that this higher number also incorporates fragments of coins, I have decided to stick with it for this database.
[888] Arslan 1997, pp. 306-322.
[889] Callegher 2016, p. 155: the selection of the coins defined as “imitations” was made at the time of the initial classification in 1996 and 1997: these were coins that were deemed unusual or problematic because they differed from the prototypes of official mints. 259 coins were selected at that time (1% of the total), of which 182 were published. According to Callegher, the 78 coins that were not chosen would have added nothing new to the published sample. A list of their photograph number at the Coin Cabinet SBF-Jerusalem can be found on p. 168, footnote 21.
[890] See also Magness 2001, p. 23.
[891] However, Bijovsky 1998, pp. 82-83 dates them more precisely to the “6th century, as part of the repertory of Byzantine nummi.”
[892] These weights are based on all coins of these types found in Trench XII, Trench XIV, and various other loci.