יישוב (בית אחוזה?) יהודי בפסגת תל רכש תרומה נוספת להכרת הגליל בתקופה שבין המרידות

Remains of a small settlement have been excavated over the past six years at the summit of Tell Rekhesh by a Japanese team together with the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology. A few rooms preserved to the height of the first floor and the beginning of the second were found at the northeastern corner of the site. In the collapse were remains of frescoes and stucco. The pottery and coins date the structure to the 1st and 2nd century CE. Among the finds are sherds of typical Jewish chalk vessels and knife-pared oil lamps. The latest coin is dated to the reign of Trajan. On the western side of the site, a large room of approximately 9×9 m. with ashlar benches along the walls probably served as a small synagogue for the owner and workers of this large farmstead. This is the only Second Temple period synagogue known in rural Galilee. The structure appears to have been established in the mid-1st century and was abandoned in the mid-2nd century CE. It is plausible that it was abandoned as a result of unrest during the Second Jewish Revolt, though we have no evidence for military activities in the Galilee during that revolt.