En Gedi

Other Name: Ein Gedi
Religion: Jewish

Archaeological Evidences:

Period: Late Roman and/or Byzantine
Excavation: Excavated
Excavators: Dan Barag, Yoseph Porat and Ehud Netzer (1970-1971)
Main Finds: Benches and Bema. Mosaic with birds and geometric shapes. Hebrew and Aramaic inscriptions. Scroll fragments from leviticus.
Inscriptions: Hebrew and Aramaic (Naveh 1978: 105-109; Werlin 2015: 114-127, CIIP IV/2: 1374-1381).
Mosaics: yes
Site Condition: National Park entrance fee.
General view - Gilead Peli all rights reserved

Geographic Details

Geographical Region: Judea
90, ישראל

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Selected Bibliography:

Selected Bibliography
  1. Yardeni, A. and Price, J. J. "῾Ein Gedi (Engaddi)" in Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. ed. W. Ameling et. al., IV/Part 2: Iudaea / Idumaea, Berlin/Boston, De Gruyter, 2018: 1373-1381.
  2. Weiss, Z. "Figurative Versus Non-Figurative Compositions in Synagogue Mosaics: The Synagogue at ‘En Gedi as a Test Case" in The 14th Conference of the Association Internationale pour l'Étude de la Mosaïque Antique (AIEMA) - 15–19 October 2018 Nocisia, Cyprus. ed. D. Michaelides, Athens, 2023: 478-487.
  3. Aviam, M. "The Synagogue at Ein Gedi: Final Report - Major Contribution to the Study of Ancient Synagogues in Israel" Cathedra 183, 2023: 128-135, (Hebrew).
  4. Porath, Y. The Synagogue at En-Gedi. Qedem 64, Jerusalem, The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University, 2021.
  5. Hirschfeld, Y. "En-Gedi — A Large Jewish Village" Qadmoniot: A Journal for the Antiquities of Eretz-Israel and Bible Lands 128, 2004: 62-87, (Hebrew).
  6. Barag, D. , Porat, Y. and Netzer, E. "The Second Season of Excavations in the Synagogue at En-Gedi" Qadmoniot: A Journal for the Antiquities of Eretz-Israel and Bible Lands 2, 1972: 52-54, (Hebrew).
  7. Longcare, D. "Reconsidering the Date of the En-Gedi Leviticus Scroll (EGLev): Exploring the Limitations of the Comparative-Typological Paleographic Method" Textus 27, 2018: 44-84.
  8. Barag, D. and Porat, Y. "The Synagogue at En Gedi" Qadmoniot: A Journal for the Antiquities of Eretz-Israel and Bible Lands 3(3), 1970: 97-100, (Hebrew).
  9. Barag, D. , Porat, Y. and Netzer, "The Synagogue at 'En-Gedi" in Ancient Synagogues Revealed. ed. L.I. Levine, Jerusalem, 1981: 116-119.
  10. Barag, D. "En Gedi" The New Encyclopedia of Archeological Excavations in the Holy Land. 1993: 405-409.
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 12 June 2026, https://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/en-gedi/

Photos:

Photos
General view - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
General view - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
Benches on southern side - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Benches on southern side - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
The Bema and the mosaic on the northern patt - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Bema and the mosaic on the northern patt - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
General view - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
General view - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
Barag and Porat 1970: 98. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
General View of the Synagogue Excavation- Looking North-East. | Barag and Porat 1970: 98. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Barag and Porat 1970: 98. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society. © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Centeral Mosaic of the Synagogue | Barag and Porat 1970: 98. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society.
Barag and Porat 1970: 99. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Apse- Looking North. | Barag and Porat 1970: 99. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Barag and Porat 1970: 99. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society. © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Goblet and Coins on the Eastern Corner of the Apse. | Barag and Porat 1970: 99. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society.
Barag and Porat 1970: 99. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Inscription of the Western Aisle Mosaic. | Barag and Porat 1970: 99. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Barag and Porat 1970: 99. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Menorah. | Barag and Porat 1970: 99. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Barag and Porat 1970: 100. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society. © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Ceramic Candle From the Apse. | Barag and Porat 1970: 100. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society.
Barag and Porat 1970: 100. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Ceramic Bowl from the Apse. | Barag and Porat 1970: 100. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: 53. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Synagogue Aerial photography- Looking North | Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: 53. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: 53. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society. © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
General View of the Synagogue- Looking North | Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: 53. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society.
Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: 54. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Hand Washing Basin | Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: 54. Courtesy of the Israel Exploration Society
Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: 54. Courtesy of Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Bronze-Coin Treasure Wrapped in Linen Fabric | Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: 54. Courtesy of Israel Exploration Society
Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: Plate 2. Courtesy of Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Bema, Mosaic and Apse- Looking North | Barag, Porat and Netzer 1972: Plate 2. Courtesy of Israel Exploration Society
Barag and Porat and Netzer 1972: Plate 3. Courtesy of Israel Exploration Society © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The Inscription of the Western Aisle Mosaic. | Barag and Porat and Netzer 1972: Plate 3. Courtesy of Israel Exploration Society
Gideon Forster's collection © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
A mosaic section from the first phase of the synagogue | Gideon Forster's collection

Plans and Drawings:

Plans

Links: