The oldest original synagogue building in the Diaspora: the Delos synagogue reconsidered

Hesperia, Fall, 2004 by Monika Trumper

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In short, even if issues involving the extension and layout of the southern part of the building remain open, it is certain at least that the building continued farther south and thus included the water reservoir under rooms B and D1. (26) In addition to the foregoing evidence, expansion is suggested by more fine white stucco on the exterior face of the south wall of B; (27) most probably this decoration dates to the first phase of use or at least to an early phase, because the later partition wall of D2/D3 abuts it (Fig. 8).

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The position of the reservoir, partly under hall A/B and partly under D1, is quite unusual. Whether the location was a deliberate choice with regard to a specific function of the reservoir or was selected for merely practical reasons (28) cannot be determined with certainty, particularly because the exact size and layout of the original building and the possible influence of external factors (29) are unknown. In theory, the foundation of the predecessor wall in D1-D3, situated immediately south of the reservoir, might be identified as remnants of the original south facade; but given the reduced width, different material (granite), and the fact that the wall was not parallel to the north wall, such a reconstruction would hardly be convincing. (30)

The matter of the expansion of the building to the east is also open to speculation. It seems rather unlikely that the large hall was entered directly from some public space, street, or place. The idea of a colonnade in front of the building finds many parallels in Delos, but none involves such a long portico or is equipped with a stylobate, and certainly not a stylobate of marble. (31) A courtyard belonging to the building must have been defined and closed off by walls, but as the preserved north and south walls of courtyard C were certainly established in a later phase, only further excavation can clarify whether they simply replaced predecessors or were part of a later enlargement of the building.

MIXED GNEISS AND GRANITE WALLS

According to the relative chronology, two different sets of walls, or wall systems, were added to the first gneiss configuration. One consisted of mixed gneiss and granite walls that were thinner than those of the large hall but strictly parallel and orthogonal to them (Fig. 3). They define large parts of the visible D-complex, which was extended to the south and divided into several rooms when it was completely remodeled in a second phase.

The inner partition walls of the D-complex (Fig. 9) are not sufficiently preserved to permit the identification of entrances or establish their relationships in all cases. (32) The west facade (of D1, D4-D6) is certainly bonded with the north wall of D5/D7, which itself, running east-west, divides the entire D-complex. The wall between D1 and D2 is bonded with this major east-west wall, but the corresponding wall between D2 and D3 abuts the east-west wall at its south end and, as noted above, the stucco on the north wall of D1-D3 (Fig. 8).