Maon Nirim

Religion: Jewish

Archaeological Evidences:

Period: Late Roman and/or Byzantine
Excavation: Excavated
Excavators: Shalom Levy (1958-1959), Ora Yogev (1980)
Main Finds: apse, mosaic that includes animals, menorah, citron (etrog), lulav, shofar.
Inscriptions: Aramaic (Naveh 1978: 92-93, Yevin 1960: 36-40, Werlin 2015: 270-272)
Mosaics: yes
Site Condition: Open to the public
General view - Gilead Peli all rights reserved

Geographic Details

Geographical Region: Coastal Plain
2410, ישראל

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Selected Bibliography:

Selected Bibliography
  1. Hakobyan, Z. "The Gardens of Eden: Compositional, Iconographic and Semantic Similarities between the ‘Birds Mosaic’of the Armenian Chapel in Jerusalem and the Mosaic of the Synagogue at Maʿon (Nirim)" in Apocryphal and Esoteric Sources in the Development of Christianity and Judaism. Boston, Brill, 2021: 590-609.
  2. Yevin, S. "Maon Inscription" in Louis M. Rabinowitz Fund Bulletin. III, 1960: 36-40.
  3. Werlin, S. The Late Ancient Synagogues of Southern Palestine. Leiden, 2015: 263-290.
  4. Levi, S. "The Ancient Synagogue at Ma'on (Nirim)" in Louis M. Rabinowitz Fund Bulletin. III, 1960: 6-13.
  5. Hiram, A.S. "Maon Reconstruction" in Louis M. Rabinowitz Fund Bulletin. 1960: 19-21.
  6. Dunayevski, I "Reconstruction (II) Ma'on" in Louis M. Rabinowitz Fund Bulletin. III, 1960: 22-23.
  7. Avi-Yonah, M. "The Mosaic Pavement of Ma'on (Nirim)" in Louis M. Rabinowitz Fund Bulletin. III, 1960: 25-35.
  8. Barag, D. "Maon Nirim" The New Encyclopedia of Archeological Excavations in the Holy Land. 1993: 944-946.
  9. Rahmani, R.Y. "The Ma'on Synagogue - The Small Finds and Coins" Louis M. Rabinowitz Fund Bulletin III, 1960: 14-18.
  10. Spigel, C.S. Ancient Synagogue Seating Capacities. Tubingen, 2012: 268-272.
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 24 June 2026, https://synagogues.kinneret.ac.il/synagogues/maon-nirim/

Photos:

Photos
General view - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Maon Nirim | General view - 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
Mosaic lions and menorah - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Mosaic lions and menorah - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
The apse and the Aramaic inscription - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
The apse and the Aramaic inscription - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
Mosaic lower part - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Mosaic lower part - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
Mosaic lower part - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Mosaic lower part - Gilead Peli all rights reserved
Menorah and shofar - Gilead Peli all rights reserved © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Menorah and shofar - Gilead Peli all rights reserved

Plans and Drawings:

Plans
Plan, Levy 1960: 8, courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology the Hebrew University of Jerusalem © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Plan, Levy 1960: 8, courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Reconscruction plan Hiram 1960: 20, courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology the Hebrew University of Jerusalem © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Reconscruction plan Hiram 1960: 20, courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Reconstruction plan Dunayevsky 1960: 23, courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology the Hebrew University of Jerusalem © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Reconstruction plan Dunayevsky 1960: 23, courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Mosaic pavement Avi-Yonah 1960: 27, courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology the Hebrew University of Jerusalem © <i> synagogues.kinneret.ac.il </i>
Mosaic pavement Avi-Yonah 1960: 27, courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

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