During recent efforts to excavate the Great Synagogue of Vilna to preserve Lithuanian Jewish history, archaeologists have uncovered its central bimah and rare artifacts, along with more of its flooring and surrounding structures.

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300-year-old synagogue that served as the center of Jewish life in Vilna was systematically destroyed not only by the Nazis, but by Soviets as well, archaeological teams find.

By World Israel News Staff

New discoveries are being revealed over the past few days in the archaeological excavations exposing the remains of the Great Synagogue of Vilna (now Vilnius in Lithuania) from the 17th and 18th centuries, destroyed in and after the Holocaust.

As part of the fifth season of excavations, 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.

In the excavations – on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Association of Lithuanian Archeology, the Good Will Foundation and the Jewish Community of Lithuania, 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.

The large and magnificent synagogue of Vilna, built in the 17th century in the Renaissance-Baroque style, was the oldest and most significant building of Lithuanian Jewry, until it was destroyed during and after the Holocaust.

In its heyday, the synagogue was surrounded by a complex of other synagogues, mikvahs and community institutions that formed a large center of Torah study and community life – the beating heart of the Lithuanian Jewry, which included 12 synagogues and study houses, the community council building, the home of Rabbi Eliyahu – the Vilna Gaon, kosher meat stalls, the famous ‘Strashun’ library, a bathhouse and more.

The place, sacred to the Jews of Lithuania, was looted and burned by the Nazi Germans, and later its remains were completely destroyed by the Soviet authorities, and a modern school was built there.

During the 2015 season of work, the results of a ground-penetrating radar survey showed significant remains of the synagogue below the surface, and since then, there have been 5 excavation seasons at the site, revealing the complex’s rich past.

According to the Excavation Directors, Dr. Jon Seligman from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Justinas Rakas from the Lithuanian Archeological Society, “The magnificent remains we are discovering – the synagogue Bimah that was uncovered during the previous excavation seasons – as well as the colorful decorations of the floor and walls – bring back moments in the life of a lost vibrant community.”

“The architectural wealth and vitality we encounter – alongside the destruction of impressive giant columns that collapsed during the destruction of the synagogue by the Nazis and the Soviets, tell the tragic story of a community that lived here, that is no more.”

According to Eli Escusido, Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “this important excavation has been going on in Lithuania for a number of years, led by a team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Lithuanians, takes on a new importance this year, after October 7.”

“In the face of rising anti-Semitism and attempts to deceive and deny, there is one undeniable truth, both simple and tragic, which tells us about an entire magnificent community that was destroyed due to hatred of Jews – Never Again.”

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The Great Synagogue of Vilna had been destroyed by the Nazis and bulldozed by the Soviets.

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In July, a team of Israeli, Lithuanian and American archaeologists unearthed the remains of two ritual baths that were used by congregants at the Great Synagogue in Vilna, today the capital of Lithuania. This synagogue, which was at heart of the Vilna’s large Jewish community for hundreds of years, was completely destroyed in the Holocaust.

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Remains of the Great Synagogue of Vilna were recently exposed, 70 years after it was destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust.

Over seven decades after being destroyed during the Holocaust, two Jewish ritual baths (Mikvas), which were connected to the Great Synagogue of Vilna, were exposed by archeologists.

In July, a team of Israeli, Lithuanian and American archaeologists unearthed the remains of the two ritual baths that were used by congregants at the Great Synagogue of Vilna.

The synagogue, which was the heart of Vilna’s large Jewish community for hundreds of years, was completely destroyed in the Holocaust, but evidence of underground spaces discovered in a study carried out last year led to the excavation of the site and the exposure of the ritual baths.

The Great Synagogue of Vilna, built in the 17^th century in Baroque-Renaissance style, served as a community gathering place and a center of Torah study. It actually included 12 smaller synagogues and study halls (Batei Midrash), ritual baths, the community council building, Kosher meat stalls, the study hall of Rabbi Eliyahu (the Genius, or  “Gaon,” of Vilna), and more.

After hundreds of years of existence, the entire Jewish community of Vilna was destroyed and the Lithuanian Jews’ most holy place was looted and burned by the Germans. The standing remains were completely destroyed by the Soviet authorities who built a school in its place.

Understanding ‘Jerusalem of Lithuania’

“Most of the historical descriptions of the Great Synagogue in Vilna and the community courtyard (Shulhoyf) relate to the Great Synagogue and the surrounding prayer halls. Until now, we have found little information about the bathhouse and Mikve building of the Jewish community, a community that comprised almost half of the city’s population,” explained Dr. Jon Seligman of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who leads the research team.

The excavation has followed an architectural plan from the end of the 19^th century that was discovered in the municipal archive of Vilna and included a plan for the restoration of the ancient bathhouse by the community. According to the plan, the bathhouse consisted of two main floors, many rooms, and a large service wing. It was also possible to identify two installations that were built as ritual baths.

This plan guided the researchers during the archeological dig, which also entailed a ground penetrating radar survey.

Seligman was joined by Mantas Daubaras of the Lithuanian Cultural Heritage Organization and Prof. Richard Freund of Hartford University. The two installations discovered are of the final phase of the Mikva’ot dated to the early 20^th century. They have tiled walls and floors, steps leading to the pool and an Otzar, an auxiliary pool in which rain water is collected for the Mikve, in order to make it suitable for ritual purification.

“These discoveries add a new dimension to the understanding of the daily lives of the Jews of Vilna, and will certainly provide a new focus for understanding the lost cultural heritage of the Jewish community of Vilna, the ‘Jerusalem of Lithuania,’” the researchers said.

By: World Israel News Staff

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