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Meroth

Other Name: Marus
Religion: Jewish

Archaeological Evidences:

Period: Late Roman and/or Byzantine
Excavation: Excavated
Excavators: Zvi Ilan and Emanuel Damati (1983-1989)
Main Finds: Benches and columns, amulet, coin hoard, mosaic fragments with figurative designs.
Inscriptions: Hebrew and Aramaic (Ilan 1995: 264, 270-272, 278-280, CIIP V/1: 184-193).
Mosaics: Yes
Site Condition: Military zone.
General view looking west - Gilead Peli all rights reserved

Geographic Details

Geographical Region: Upper Galilee
Unnamed Road, ישראל

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Selected Bibliography:

Selected Bibliography
  1. Price, J. J. and Yardeni, A. "Meroth" in Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. ed. W. Ameling et. al., V/Part 1: Galilaea and Northern Regions, Berlin/Boston, De Gruyter, 2023: 184-193.
  2. Sandhaus, D. "Selected Pottery from the Synagogue at Ḥorbat Merot" 109, Atiqot, 2022: 83-115.
  3. Bijovsky, G. "The Coins from the Synagogue at Ḥorbat Merot, Upper Galilee" 109, Atiqot, 2022: 117-155.
  4. Damati, E. "The Synagogue at Ḥorbat Merot: Its Construction Phases and a New Interpretation of the Finds" 109, Atiqot, 2022: 89-139, (Hebrew).
  5. Damati, E. "The Synagogue and Bet Midrash of Ancient Merot" in Ancient Synagogues Revealed: 1981-2022. ed. L. I. Levine, Z. Weiss, U. Leibner, Jerusalem, Israel Exploration Society, 2023: 11-19.
  6. Ilan, Z. and Damati, I. "The Synagogue and Beth-Midrash at Ancient Meroth" Qadmoniot: A Journal for the Antiquities of Eretz-Israel and Bible Lands 20, 1987: 87-96, (Hebrew).
  7. Ilan, Z. and Damati, E. "Excavation of the Synagogue at Meroth" Qadmoniot: A Journal for the Antiquities of Eretz-Israel and Bible Lands 18, 1985: 44-50, (Hebrew).
  8. Ilan, Z. "The Synagogue and Study House at Meroth" in Ancient Synagogues-Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery. ed. Dan Urman and Paul V.M Flesher, 1, Leiden- New York-Koln, 1995: 256-288.
  9. Mucznik, S. and Ovadiah, A. "The Meroth Mosaic Reconsidered" in Journal of Jewish Studies. 47,2, 1996: 286-293.
  10. Damati, E. The Meroth Synagogue and its implication on the Chronology of Galilean Synagogues. MA Thesis, Jerusalem, Hebrew University, 2000, (Hebrew).
Bibliographic citation of this page
Ben David, C. Osband, M. Aviam, M. Site: ‘Synagogues.Kinneret.ac.il’, The Bornblum Eretz Israel Website for the Study of Ancient Synagogues, accessed on 19 July 2025, https://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/meroth/

Photos:

Photos
Lintel with inscription from study room - Mordechai Aviam © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Lintel with inscription from study room - Mordechai Aviam
General view from North West - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
General view from North West - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
General view looking west - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
General view looking west - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
Base for the Torah shrine - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Base for the Torah shrine - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
Ilan and Damati 1985: 44. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
General View of the Synagogue | Ilan and Damati 1985: 44. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 45. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Western Bema of the Synagogue- Looking from East | Ilan and Damati 1985: 45. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 45. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Western Bema- Upper Glance | Ilan and Damati 1985: 45. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 46. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Second Phase Flooring of the Synagogue, Above it is a Later Phase of Flooring and Second Use Architectural Items | Ilan and Damati 1985: 46. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 46. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Amulet | Ilan and Damati 1985: 46. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 46. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Cornice Fragment | Ilan and Damati 1985: 46. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 47. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Main Entrance Threshfold and the Portico and Main Hall Flooring | Ilan and Damati 1985: 47. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 47. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Tabun Room above the Synagogue flooring | Ilan and Damati 1985: 47. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 48. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Mosaic Floor- Figure with Weapons around it | Ilan and Damati 1985: 48. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 48. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Mosaic with Aramaic Inscription | Ilan and Damati 1985: 48. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1985: 50. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Study Room | Ilan and Damati 1985: 50. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 88. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Aerial photograph- The Beth-Midrash is located in the Lower right Corner | Ilan and Damati 1987: 88. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 89. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Beth-Midrash and Synagogue- Looking from South-West | Ilan and Damati 1987: 89. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 90. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Southern Part of the Synagogue and the Gallery's Staircase | Ilan and Damati 1987: 90. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 90. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Secondary Use of Columns as the Synagogue's Portico Foundations | Ilan and Damati 1987: 90. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 91. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
General View of the Synagogue and Beth-Midrash | Ilan and Damati 1987: 91. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 93. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Beth-Midrash's Lintel- With Hebrew Inscription | Ilan and Damati 1987: 93. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 94. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Mosaic with Biblical Citation- Beth Midrash | Ilan and Damati 1987: 94. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 96. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Synagogue's fund | Ilan and Damati 1987: 96. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Ilan and Damati 1987: 96. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Bronze Coins from the Synagogue's Fund | Ilan and Damati 1987: 96. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society

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