Synagogue

In the south-western corner of the so-called Lion Bay, directly north of the Harbor Hall, a building complex which researchers refer to as a synagogue was uncovered at the beginning of the 20th century. Measuring roughly 40 by 29 meters, the complex followed the street grid and was surrounded by narrow alleyways. The western wall was built on the foundations of the Hellenistic city wall. The complex was enclosed on all sides and extended northwards from the city center, starting with a three-aisled hall in the south. The northern wall of this synagogue had a slight bend in its course, which the northern row of columns also seems to have followed. The narrow spacing of the columns indicates that they were crowned by a gallery. Early excavations also revealed that the synagogue underwent a massive reconstruction phase, as it was originally built as a single-nave room without internal divisions. This is indicated by two small doors in the east wall, which were subsequently covered by pillars during the construction of the colonnades. A similar situation can be observed on the opposite west wall, where there were originally two niches behind the pilasters. The main entrance to the newer building was from the east, where an entrance peristyle could be found in front of it. The inner courtyard of the peristyle was paved with stone slabs, while the portico and the synagogue itself had a simple limestone mosaic floor. The north wall of the porch overlapped the remains of the Small Harbor Monument, which had already been demolished at the time.

At a later date, a structure with several rooms was added directly to the north of the synagogue and vestibule, which extended into the 20-metre-deep courtyard behind the synagogue. To the north of the courtyard was a 6.60 m deep wing with several chambers. Three further, unequal rooms were located between this north wing and the synagogue on the west side of the courtyard. They were not directly connected to the surrounding structures, but kept a slight distance and also had a portico in front to the east. Additionally, there was a well in the corner between the portico, synagogue and later extension. Based on the construction style of the walls, for which mainly spoils in addition to bricks were used, the complex can be dated to the late 4th century AD. Although there is no clear evidence, the building complex was first referred to as a synagogue as early as 1916. This interpretation is supported on one hand by the layout itself and on the other by the orientation of the entrance front, which – with a deviation of approx. 15° due to the street grid – is aligned towards Jerusalem. Several inscriptions in the lower diazoma of the Theater testify to the existence of a Jewish community in Miletus in the late Roman imperial period.

Text: Nadia Cahenzli