Zev Radovan, courtesy Israel Museum/Department of Antiquities
This exquisitely carved lintel, now displayed in the courtyard of the Israel Museum, once stood over the main southern entry of the second (Late Roman) synagogue at Nabratein. Inscribed on it in Hebrew is a building dedication which dates the synagogue to “494 years after the destruction [of the Temple]” or 564 A.D. Archaeologists believe that this crudely inscribed dedication was added to the third century lintel by the Byzantine builders who constructed their synagogue in the sixth century using the remains of the Late Roman structure.