Description of the attraction
The synagogue was built in the 5th century AD inside the fortress walls of the city of Onchezmus - this is the ancient name of today's Saranda.
Judging by the size of the two-story building, the local Jewish community was large and wealthy. Nothing is known about its origin, but based on Jewish written documents, Jews from the countryside migrated to cities in peace and prosperity.
The fort city of Onchezmus was located on the seashore, on the overland trade route between Corfu, Thessaloniki and Constantinople. Jewish settlements scattered along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea were important points of the trade route at the end of antiquity. It is known from a fragment of an ancient text that the Onchezmus community had contacts with the Italian Hebrew community located near Lecce. The version of the synagogue is also supported by the discovered tombstone with an inscription in Hebrew that the daughter of the head of the Onchezmus community is buried here.
The synagogue served as both a religious and community center, and also housed a school. Its construction was carried out in two stages. Originally, the synagogue was two-storied and included a prayer hall with images of a menorah on a mosaic floor. During the prosperity of the community, a new prayer hall was built in the style of a basilica. The synagogue was completely converted into a basilica in the 6th century. It has not been reliably established why the buildings were destroyed - from an earthquake or a Slavic invasion. The floors with numerous mosaics depicting animals and Jewish symbols have survived to this day.
