Image Details

Seemingly still aflame, this 8-inch graffito incised in plaster is the earliest known depiction of the menorah, the seven-branched candelabrum, used in the Temple. Ovoids alternating with double lines run from the pyramidal base to the very top of the menorah. The two partially preserved designs on the right edge of the fragments may have depicted the Temple’s shewbread table and its altar. Found a mere 300 yards from the Temple itself, this graffito was presumably etched by someone familiar with the original. Despite its strong claim to accuracy, however, this rendition may be too schematic to be a completely reliable transcription of the menorah.