This season’s excavations at the site of the Great Synagogue in Vilnius revealed remains of the polychrome decorated floor and walls of the main prayer hall, huge collapsed columns, and other evidence of “the intensity of the destruction of the synagogue” which was partially destroyed by the Nazis and later razed by the post WW2 Soviet regime.
In a statement, the Israel Antiquities Authority described the new discoveries as “exciting.” During the excavations carried out July 8-26 — the fifth season of excavations at the site — it said:
new sections of the floor of the Great Synagogue were uncovered for the first time, showing them to be decorated with red, black and white flowers. Also discovered were part of the women’s section of the synagogue (Ezrat Nashim) and huge water reservoirs that were used to feed halachically pure water to the mikva’ot used by the community. The excavation also exposed one of the iconic giant pillars that surrounded the Bimah (prayer platform) of the synagogue, now collapsed on its side – testimony to the intensity of the deliberate destruction the site after 300 years of continuous activity. […] it also turned out that the walls of the synagogue were decorated, the excavation showing the remains of a section of wall, painted with blue and red motifs.
Watch a video of one of the directors of the excavation, Dr. Jon Seligman from the Israel Antiquities Authority, describing the finds (in English)
The excavations were carried out on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Association of Lithuanian Archeology (Kultūros paveldo Išsaugojimo sajkos), the Good Will Foundation and the Jewish Community of Lithuania.
The Great Synagogue was built in the early 1600s in Renaissance-Baroque style. It became the center of Jewish life in Vilnius (Vilna), towering over the Shulhoyf, a teeming complex of alleyways and other Jewish community buildings and institutions including 12 synagogues, ritual baths, the community council, kosher meat stalls, the Strashun library, and other structures and institutions.
It was ransacked and torched by the Nazis in World War II, and the postwar Soviet regime torn down the ruins and in the 1950s built a school on the site.
Archaeologists have been excavating at the site since 2016, after first preparing the way with group-penetrating radar scans. Major finds have included the foundations of the Ark and the Bimah, and the discovery of two ritual baths (mikvehs).
Read our post about the 2021 discoveries, with video reports
Read our post about the 2019 discoveries with more details and links to earlier articles
Access the project’s Facebook page for more pictures and updates