Magdala Stone

Carved limestone block from a 1st-century synagogue at Magdala.

Date

c. 1st century CE

Culture

Jewish (Galilean)

Material

Limestone

Dimensions

60 cm x 50 cm x 40 cm

Found at

Magdala, Israel

Held by

Israel Antiquities Authority

Discovered by

Dina Avshalom-Gorni (2009)

stonesynagoguemenorahgalilee

Description

A rectangular limestone block found in the synagogue at Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, elaborately carved with what appears to be a depiction of the Second Temple menorah — likely the earliest such image made by someone who had seen the Temple.

Biblical significance

The Magdala synagogue dates to the time of Jesus, in the hometown of Mary Magdalene, and provides direct evidence of the kind of Galilean synagogue Jesus taught in (Matthew 4:23).

From the same era

Related artifacts

New Testament · c. 103–76 BCE (in use through 1st c. CE)

Widow's Mite (Lepton of Alexander Jannaeus)

Tiny bronze coin representing the two mites of the poor widow.

New Testament · late 1st century BCE – 70 CE

Pool of Siloam

First-century stepped pool where Jesus healed the man born blind.

New Testament · c. 20 BCE – 70 CE

Temple Warning Inscription

Greek inscription warning Gentiles not to enter the inner Temple courts.