The remains of a building from the days of the Sanhedrin were recently uncovered in the city of Yavne in a huge excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The Sanhedrin was the Jewish leadership that exiled Birch, after the destruction of Jerusalem about 2,000 years ago.
Fragments of stone vessels made of chalk rock, indicating a Jewish presence, were discovered in the building.
The excavation also revealed an impressive cemetery, which dates to the days of the Sanhedrin.
The excavation reveals evidence of the way of life of the residents of Yavne the city from the end of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
Remains of a building from those days when limestone cups were discovered, indicating a Jewish presence and the observance of the laws of impurity and purity at the site, were also exposed.
Near this excavation site, a huge wine production plant from the Byzantine period was recently unveiled.
This week during Hanukkah, excavation tours are held with prior registration, as part of Israel Heritage Week.
A structure from the days of the Sanhedrin was unveiled in Yavne // Photo: Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority
"The discovery of the finds from the days of the Sanhedrin is very exciting," say Pablo Betzer and Dr. Daniel Varga, directors of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
"This is a direct demand of peace from the period when the Jewish leadership collected the fragments after the destruction of the Temple, exiled it to the city of Yavne, and there - began to rebuild the Jewish people."
One of the sarcophagi in the Yavneh excavation, Photo: Yaniv Berman / Israel Antiquities Authority
"Hevra Kadisha" of the days of the Sanhedrin
The excavation revealed for the first time a building of an industrial character, dating from the 1st to the 3rd century AD.
A number of fragments of stone vessels, of the type known as "measuring cups", vessels that do not receive impurity, identified with the Jewish population of the late Second Temple period and the 2nd century AD, were discovered on its floor.
More than 150 glass vials were also found in the excavation, lying over the graves.
Just 70 meters from the building, an impressive cemetery was unveiled.
"We found dozens of unusually arranged graves, in fixed rows and distances, which may indicate the existence of a 'burial society' - some factor that was responsible for the burial," Betzer and Dr. Varga say.
"Tombs have different shapes: some are made as coffins (sarcophagi), most are made of stone, and one - lead."
An urn uncovered in excavations, Photo: Emil Aljem / Israel Antiquities Authority
The directors of the excavation add that "according to the location of the cemetery, it can be assumed that it was erected outside the city limits, in accordance with Jewish law and Roman law. But were Jews or pagans buried here? It is too early to determine, .
Dr. Yael Gorin-Rosen, head of the glass branch at the Israel Antiquities Authority, said that "the vials were probably used to store valuable liquids, such as fragrant oils.
About half of them were produced locally and a second half were imported from Alexandria in Egypt.
Such vials are discovered in both excavations in Jewish tombs and in pagan tombs, from the 1st century to the beginning of the 3rd century AD.
"Laying the vials outside the graves in Yavne and not inside them, as was customary, is a mystery."
Fragment of a measuring cup exposed in a structure from the Sanhedrin, Photo: Pablo Betzer / Israel Antiquities Authority
Eli Escozido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, explains that hundreds of workers, dozens of staff and experts and volunteers from preparatory schools and the city of Yavne participated in the excavation.
In ancient times, Yavne was one of the most important cities in the southern coastal plain.
During the Hasmonean period, the city played an important role in the struggle between the Maccabean army and the Seleucid (Greek) rule, and it is mentioned many times in the writings of Yosef ben Matityahu.
By the end of the Second Temple period, a mixed city would be built, with most of its inhabitants Jews.
According to the descriptions in the sages' literature, before the destruction of the Second Temple, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai fled from besieged Jerusalem, and persuaded the Roman emperor Vespasian to allow him to re-establish the Sanhedrin in Yavne.
After the destruction of the house until the Bar Kochba revolt, Yavneh was the most important Jewish spiritual center in the country.
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, followed by Rabban Gamliel, led the Sanhedrin and the institution of the presidency in Yavne, restored the life of the Torah in the land and amended regulations appropriate to the reality without a temple.
Tombs from the Sanhedrin in Yavne, Photo: Emil Aljam / Israel Antiquities Authority
The excavation was carried out with the funding of the Israel Land Authority and in cooperation with the Yavne Municipality on the occasion of the expansion of the city.
The works were carried out before the expansion of the city at the initiative of the Israel Land Authority and in cooperation with the Yavne Municipality.
According to Yaakov Quint, director of the Israel Land Authority, the Israel Land Authority is promoting, within the framework of the umbrella agreement with the Yavne Municipality, the establishment of a huge project in the area of the Yavne East Sorek Plan.
The plan will include 12,500 housing units and 450,000 square meters of commercial and employment.
The plan includes doubling the railway track and construction over a train station.
As part of the preliminary work to develop the plan, the Israel Land Authority is investing NIS 200 million in the work of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The Mayor of Yavne, Zvi Gov-Ari, stated that "the importance of Yavne's position in the history of the Jewish people is gaining further ground today. Promised".
As part of Israel Heritage Week, the Israel Antiquities Authority invites the public to visit the Yavneh excavation.
The tours will focus on the largest known wine factory from the Byzantine period, unveiled at the site.
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