An archaeological excavation in Israel’s Golan Heights has revealed the remains of a 1,500-year-old synagogue, shedding new light on ancient Jewish life in the region during the Byzantine era.

The discovery, announced earlier this month, was made in the Yehudiya Nature Reserve beneath the ruins of an abandoned Syrian village. Researchers from the University of Haifa’s Zinman Institute of Archaeology, in collaboration with Kinneret Academic College and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, uncovered the basilica-style structure during a targeted dig licensed by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The synagogue, dating to the 5th or 6th century C.E., measures approximately 13 meters wide and at least 17 meters long. Key features include two rows of basalt columns, stone benches along the walls and a southern facade with three doorways oriented toward Jerusalem — a hallmark of ancient synagogues in the Land of Israel.Among the artifacts recovered are decorated lintels, column drums and fragments possibly from a Torah ark, many of which had been repurposed in later structures or buried under collapsed stone.