Adina Gerwin, an undergraduate student in the Jewish Studies program, traveled to northern Spain to participate in an international archaeological field school this past summer. Her work centered on the excavation of a 15th-century synagogue in the town of Belchite.
Gerwin writes about her field experience in Spain:
This past summer I worked to excavate a 15th century synagogue in the ruins of the town of Belchite in northern Spain. While the origins of the city are unknown, Belchite shows signs of early Roman occupation as indicated by a Roman road and villa. The confraternity of Belchite was founded by Alfonso the Battler in the early 12th century, and ruins suggest that by the late medieval period it was a large city. During that period, the Jewish quarter is theorized to have represented about 10 percent of its inhabitants. The site was determined to be a synagogue based on several different factors including, orientation, oral history, and most importantly based on frescos plaster found that match identical imagery of a Menorah from a synagogue in the Hijar region. I helped provide additional details about the layout of the inside (bimah, water basin, mikvah, etc). After the Jews were expelled the site was used as a granary and eventually there was a fire and the building collapsed. We are awaiting carbon dating of charcoal samples and do not have more specific dates.
In the mid 1930s during the Spanish Civil War, the Spanish Republican Army attacked Belchite as part of the larger Zaragoza offensive. The ultimate goal was to capture the provincial capital of Zaragoza, but after concluding that victory there would prove impossible, the army attacked Belchite. Due to the scale and nature of the fighting Belchite was eventually left in ruins. While the main city was destroyed, a smaller town near the ruins was rebuilt in the 1950s and currently has a population of around two thousand.
The town is very beautiful but extremely hot. Everyday we woke up between 5:30 and 6:30 am to dig before the midday heat. The excavation included digging to the original floors of the synagogue, refurnishing the walls and sifting through the dirt to find various ceramics dating from the 15th century through to the 20th. The big discovery was a large metal structure in the center of the room which we presume to be a bimah. We were featured on the local Spanish news and are awaiting further information. It's possible that this structure will be one of the largest fully intact bimahs in Europe. After excavating, we would return to the apartment for the afternoon to clean the pottery, date samples collected, and conduct research on the materials found before making a plan for the next day. The entire field school was only 10 students from around the world. I was the only American undergrad and there was one Harvard masters student but beyond that the team consisted of British, Canadian, Spanish, and Dutch students. Generally after a long day of cleaning and research we had drinks with the locals at around 7:30pm before dinner. It was a truly special and remarkable experience and the research done will have a lasting impact on the field of Jewish archaeology in Spain.
*As a final, more personal note, I’ll say that the most rewarding part, more exciting than the excavations, was the opportunity to teach my fellow field school participants and our director what Judaism looks like today. Instead of their only connection to Judaism being through the literal remains of expulsion and destruction, I was able to share my lived experience as an observant Jew, showing that Judaism is not just a history of persecution, but a vibrant faith and culture. It was incredibly meaningful to represent my tradition as living despite the history.