What is the Earliest Evidence for Ancient Synagogues?
The earliest evidence for synagogue buildings comes from Egypt in the third century BCE. It consists of two synagogue dedications and a reference in a papyrus letter from the village of Alexandrou-Nesos (Middle Egypt) that dates to 218 BCE. The earliest architectural evidence from the diaspora is the synagogue on the island of Delos in the Aegean Sea. This hall was either: (a) originally built as a synagogue in the second century BCE, or (b) first constructed as a pagan cultic hall, abandoned, and then transformed into synagogue in the first century BCE. Unfortunately, we are still unclear whether this was a Jewish or a Samaritan synagogue since two Samaritan synagogue inscriptions were discovered 90 m north of the building. On the earliest evidence from Palestine, see the preceding section.
