Magdala

The Magdala Stone bearing the earliest carved image of the Temple menorah provides unique evidence for 1st century synagogue art and a direct link to Mary Magdalene's hometown.

Magdala sits on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, about 6 kilometers north of Tiberias. The ancient town was known in Greek as Tarichaeae, a word that refers to salted or pickled fish, which tells you a great deal about what the town's economy depended on. In Hebrew and Aramaic the settlement was called Migdal or Magdala, meaning 'tower.' The fishing industry of the Sea of Galilee ran through places like this, where fish were caught, salted, and then shipped throughout the Roman world.

The modern discovery of the ancient town happened almost by accident. In 2009, the Anahuac University from Mexico was building a spiritual retreat center on land near the shore. As construction began, workers uncovered ancient walls just below the surface. The Israel Antiquities Authority sent archaeologists Dina Avshalom-Gorni and Arfan Najar to investigate. What they found halted the construction and launched one of the most significant excavations in Galilee in recent decades.

The most stunning find was a synagogue dating to the 1st century CE. The building measured about 120 square meters, a modest but well-built structure. Inside the synagogue, archaeologists found a large carved stone block, now called the Magdala Stone. It is roughly the size of a small table and is decorated on all sides with carved images. The most important carving shows a seven-branched menorah, the iconic lampstand used in the Jerusalem Temple. This is the oldest carved image of the Temple menorah ever found. The Temple was still standing when this stone was carved, and whoever made it may have seen the actual menorah in Jerusalem. The stone also shows an arch or facade that may represent the Temple entrance, columns, a rosette pattern, and a jar, possibly for oil.

Archaeologists are not entirely sure how the stone was used inside the synagogue. It may have sat in the center of the room as a kind of reading table or decorative pedestal. Its position within the synagogue was in the main hall, where the community gathered.

Beyond the synagogue, excavations uncovered a marketplace with stone-paved streets, houses with mosaic floors, a large pool that may have served as a communal water source, and several mikvaot (ritual immersion baths). Fish processing installations near the waterfront confirmed the town's role as a center for the fishing trade. Coins found at the site span the period from the Hasmonean era through the Roman destruction of 67 CE, when the Jewish general-turned-historian Josephus described a naval battle and Roman assault on Tarichaeae.

The site is now managed as the Magdala Center, an open archaeological and spiritual site operated by the Legionaries of Christ. Visitors can walk through the excavated synagogue and see the stone's location, though the Magdala Stone itself is kept at the Israel Antiquities Authority for study. Excavations continue, and each season brings new finds. Researchers believe the town may have been home to several thousand people at its peak in the mid-1st century CE.

The connection to Mary Magdalene gives the site a personal dimension. The Gospel accounts consistently call her 'Mary of Magdala,' following the ancient Jewish practice of naming people after their hometown. She is named in all four Gospels and appears at some of the most important moments in the narrative.

• First-century CE synagogue building with well-preserved walls and interior layout, contemporary with Jesus's ministry in Galilee
• The Magdala Stone, a carved basalt block bearing the oldest known carved image of the Jerusalem Temple menorah
• Multiple mikvaot (ritual immersion pools) indicating a Jewish community following purity laws
• Fish processing installations and evidence of the salted-fish trade that gave the town its Greek name Tarichaeae
• Stone-paved marketplace streets showing the town's commercial activity
• Mosaic floors in residential buildings indicating relative wealth among some townspeople
• Coin assemblage spanning Hasmonean through Roman periods confirming occupation dates
• Evidence of violent destruction consistent with the Roman assault described by Josephus in 67 CE

Mary Magdalene is one of the most frequently named women in the New Testament. She is mentioned by name in all four Gospels. Luke 8:2 says Jesus had cast seven demons out of her, and from that point she became one of his followers and supported his ministry. Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 both place her among the women watching the crucifixion from a distance. John 20:1 records that Mary Magdalene was the first person to come to the empty tomb on Sunday morning, and John 20:11-18 records that the risen Jesus appeared to her first. Her surname 'Magdalene' in Greek is simply 'of Magdala,' meaning she came from this town. The discovery of a functioning first-century synagogue at Magdala is significant because the Gospels frequently describe Jesus teaching in synagogues around Galilee (Matthew 4:23; Luke 4:44). It is historically plausible, though not provable, that Jesus visited this very synagogue during his Galilean ministry, since Magdala was a notable town on the lakeshore close to Capernaum and other places he is known to have visited.