Subscribe to Archaeology

Possible Medieval Synagogue Identified in Bulgaria

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

VELIKO TURNOVO, BULGARIA—According to a Sofia Globe report, archaeologists led by Mirko Robov of the Bulgarian National Archaeological Institute announced that a structure located near northwestern Bulgaria’s Trapezitsa Fortress site may have been a synagogue. The building, which is lined with stone slabs and measures about 70 feet long on the east-west axis and 38 feet wide on the north-south axis, is thought to date to the middle of the thirteenth century. The entrance to the structure, placed on the western side, featured a massive door. The apse built with two columns and an arch stood on the eastern side. Robov said the building was situated in what had been a Jewish neighborhood known as Turnovo, founded by Jewish immigrants from Constantinople and Venice under the thirteenth-century rule of Tsar Asen II. In the fourteenth century, however, Tsar Ivan Alexander persecuted members of Turnovo’s Jewish community. For more on Bulgarian archaeology, go to "Iconic Discovery."

Advertisement

Advertisement

Recent Issues


Advertisement