Image by Israel Antiquities Authority, Saʽar Ganor

By Naomi Zeveloff January 4, 2017

Israeli hikers discovered an ancient carving of a menorah and a cross in a water cistern made of chalk bedrock last week in the Judean foothills.

Mickey Barkal, Sefi Givoni and Ido Meroz, members of the Israeli Caving Club, made the discovery over a weekend Hanukkah hike and reported it to the Israeli Antiquities Authority.

According to the Antiquities Authority, the menorah depicts the seven-branch candelabra that stood during the Second Temple period, from 530 BCE to 70 C.E.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Next to the menorah was an engraving of a cross and another engraving of what appeared to be a key. Next to the cistern were dozens of alcoves for doves, which were used as a sacrifice in the Temple.

Sa’ar Ganor, an archaeologist with the Antiquities Authority in the Ashkelon region, said that the menorah was likely carved into the cistern wall by inhabitants of the Jewish settlement during the Second Temple period. The cross might have been etched later in the Byzantine period.

He called it an “exciting discovery” that adds to research on the Second Temple settlements. The Israel Antiquities Authority has not released the exact location of the cistern.

There have been only two other menorah engravings discovered in the Judean foothills: one on an oil press and another in a burial complex.

Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected]

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount