Image Details

DAN PORGES / ALAMY

SENSORY SYNAGOGUES. Following the Jerusalem Temple’s destruction in 70 CE, synagogues became vital centers for Jewish communities in the wider Mediterranean world. They were places of worship, learning, and community life. Scholars are now turning to archaeological and written sources to understand what these sacred spaces looked and felt like. Synagogue architecture and decoration, such as this elaborate mosaic floor from the fifth-century Galilean synagogue at Sepphoris, convey the grandeur of these holy spaces, but smaller objects, including lamps and censers, reveal how they were experienced through sight and smell.