Tuesday, September 11, 2012

681210.02-Capernaum


In the intervening years, the synagogue at Capernaum has been reconstructed, which is to say that pillars have been stood upright and lentils placed back.   The footprint of the synagogue fills up most of the precinct so one has to figure that it was merely the center of what must have been a rather extensive community, of which little remains.



The synagogue ruins stand at odds with today's propagandized version of the Diaspora.  Given that the synagogue dates from the Fifth or Fourth century, it bespeaks a prosperous Jewish community in Palestine at that time under Roman-Christian rule. 

The other remains in the area are beautiful mosaics from the late Roman or early Byzantine period in the floors and foundations of erstwhile buildings and churches.   The Sea of Galilee has to come from somewhere and these mosaics often covered natural springs or were built alongside fresh pools of water. 

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