Lithuania experts unearth shul bimah

ARCHEOLOGISTS HAVE unearthed significant sacred treasures while excavating the remains of the Great Synagogue of Vilna in Vilnius Old Town.

Now in their fourth year of digs, the team with experts from the US, Israel and Lithuania have discovered two of the four massive pillars that once surrounded the bimah — the pulpit — and supported the roof. The floor of the bimah was decorated with coloured terrazzo, with red and black patterns.

The 17th-century synagogue was looted, burned and partly destroyed during the Second World War. Its remains were then bulldozed during the 1950s by the Soviet government, which built a kindergarten on top.

The discovery of the precise location of the bimah, from where the Torah was read to the Jewish community of Vilnius for three centuries, is this year’s most exciting development, the archeologists have said.

“The discovery of the pillars is a great moment for us because we have found one of the two most sacred parts of the building,” said Dr Jon Seligman, the head of the research team. “These pillars used to be nine metres tall, and Digs have been held for four years

were located at a special place in the synagogue — exactly where rabbis were standing during the service. We experienced great joy when finally stumbling upon them.”

The researchers also uncovered a cellar containing about 200 coins, wall inscriptions, a mikve and 16th century tiles. The wall inscriptions refer to the Old Testament — one is a citation from the Book of Genesis, while others are lines from religious hymns. The coins vary in age, with some dating back to the 17th century, while others were made sometime around the synagogue’s destruction.

The Great Synagogue was a centre of culture and religion for Litvak Jews and was the principal prayer home for the vast Jewish community in Vilnius.

The dig will also aim to uncover the aron kodesh — the ark containing the synagogue’s Torah scrolls.

“Piece by piece we are recovering more and more of the elements of the Great Synagogue,” the archeologists said.