Archaeologists working at the Spanish site say they have revealed evidence that they may have been a synagogue used by the previously unknown Jewish community.
Research released earlier this month showed that experts had unearthed the site, previously thought to be a church that appeared in the fourth century, but experts discovered materials and architectural evidence, leading them to assume that the building is in fact a synagogue.
Artifacts such as oil lamp fragments and menora-decorated roof tiles were discovered during excavations at Castelo, a former Roman settlement in southern Spain, but no material with a clear connection to Christian faith was found on the site.
In contrast, archaeologists have discovered evidence of Christian worship at another site in the town, research author Bautista Seprian and archaeologist for the Casturo Sepharad Primera Ruz Project told CNN on Wednesday.
The buildings also have a more square shape than the Christian church, which tends to be more rectangular. Archaeologists have discovered the foundations of centrally raised platforms, not common in synagogues but not in churches, he added.
Furthermore, no graves were found in the building. The building was built near an abandoned Roman temple. This would have been feared by Christian inhabitants because of their pagan relations, he added.
“It’s a hidden, modest, isolated place that would not have been frequented by the Christian majority,” Seprian said.
Taken together, this evidence indicates the existence of a previously unknown Jewish community in the town, the research authors argue.
“The reinterpretation of the building from the church to the synagogue followed the process of logical reasoning based on historical and archaeological data we own,” Seprian said.
Nevertheless, as the study authors acknowledged, the lack of written records of Casturo’s Jewish community is unquestionable.
Speculating about the daily lives of a community is a “very dangerous movement.” Seprian said, but they would have lived with fellow Roman citizens of the town.
The population is thought to have since disappeared. This was not named in anti-Semitic law enacted by Visigoth King Sisebut, so it ruled what is now Spain from 612 to 621, while the Jewish communities in other nearby towns have been specially appointed.
“It’s hard to know,” Seprian said as to what happened to them.
One possible explanation is that Christian clergy feared that locals would convert to Judaism given the “close and friendly relations” between the two groups in the area at the time.
The concerns drove Christian leaders increasingly influenced the Roman Empire and influenced the fear and opposition of the Jewish community, Seprian said.
This peaked in an episode that began around the end of the fourth century, when Jews were pressured to convert to Christianity. He said those who were “friendly and invited” refused to leave their homelands.
Now, the team will strive to protect the site and the excavation will continue, Ceprián said. They aim to make the public visit at some point in the future, he added.
“We cannot rule out the possibility of finding more conclusive evidence that will allow the possible synagogue hypothesis to be updated to the actual synagogue,” he said.
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