18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists unearth the Torah Ark of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, destroyed in Lithuania

In Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in excavation exposed the Torah ark and bimah (raised prayer platform) of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, which was destroyed by the Nazis during the Holocaust and later razed again by the Soviets.

Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday that they have made important discoveries in an excavation jointly conducted by Israel and Lithuania for six years.

“Just this morning, while sifting the soil in front of the aron kodesh, we found a silver yad. The yad is a pointer used to read from the Torah scroll,” the IAA stated in its statement, referring to a pointer at the part of the biblical text being read. The finding will be exhibited at the local Jewish museum.

Vilnius was once regarded as “Lithuania’s Jerusalem.” The Great Synagogue of Vilna, constructed in the 17th century in Renaissance-Baroque architecture, was the centerpiece of a great Jewish center of religious and communal learning. It was the center of the Lithuanian Jewish community, including synagogues and prayer halls, schools, ritual baths, and the community council.

Imaging of the podium at the Great Synagogue of Vilnius, İmage: UAB Inlusion Netforms
Imaging of the podium at the Great Synagogue of Vilnius, İmage: UAB Inlusion Netforms

Vilnius was a hub of Jewish life in Eastern Europe prior to World War II. The Nazis killed 90 percent of the city’s Jews and demolished their places of worship during the Holocaust. Following the Soviet Union’s invasion of Lithuania in 1944, the Communists demolished the 17th-century Vilna Synagogue and erected a kindergarten on its rubble.

“When we arrived to carry out the excavations of the interior of the synagogue, it became clear, unfortunately, that the core of the synagogue had been greatly damaged,” said Dr. Jon Seligman from the Israel Antiquities Authority. “Still, two impressive staircases, clearly visible in the many images of the synagogue before its destruction, were discovered and are evidence of their existence.”

Dr. Jon Seligman also said that “the synagogue is a typical baroque nine-bay synagogue.”

The Israel Antiquities Authority, the Kultros paveldo Isaugojimo pajgos, the Good Will Foundation, and the Jewish Community of Lithuania collaborated in the dig. Lithuanians, Israelis, and North Americans make up the study team.

Cover Photo: The excavation of the Great Synagogue of Vilna in Lithuania showing the area of the Torah ark and two flights of stairs destroyed by the Nazis and the Soviets, August 2021. (Jon Seligman/Israel Antiquities Authority)

Related Articles

Ceremonial cave site from Postclassic Maya period discovered in Yucatán Peninsula

21 December 2021

21 December 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a ceremonial cave site in Chemuyil on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, that dates from the Postclassic Maya...

For the first time, researchers discovered bioarchaeological evidence of familial embalming in early modern France

16 November 2024

16 November 2024

A unique discovery has revealed new insights into the burial rituals of early modern Western Europe: For the first time,...

Mosaics found in Türkiye’s Sinop belong to dining room of a wealthy family

24 June 2023

24 June 2023

The pebble mosaics unearthed during the excavation of a building complex in the province of Sinop on Turkey’s Black Sea...

Archeological study shows unearthed Byzantine warrior had gold-threaded jaw

30 September 2021

30 September 2021

A Byzantine warrior who was beheaded after the Ottomans captured his fort in the 14th century had a jaw threaded...

Polish researchers reveal what ancient Egyptian faience has to do with gold

31 December 2022

31 December 2022

Powdered quartz used to make faience vessels discovered by Polish archaeologists during excavations in the ancient city of Athribis in...

Could Therasia’s 4,500-Year-Old Seals Be the Missing Link in Aegean Writing?

3 June 2025

3 June 2025

Therasia’s archaeological discovery offers significant insights, influencing our understanding of Early Bronze Age communication and the emergence of writing in...

Twin temples linked to Hercules and Alexander the Great discovered in Sumerian city of Girsu

29 January 2024

29 January 2024

Archaeologists discovered two temples, with one buried over the other, during excavations at Girsu, a Sumerian city in southeastern Iraq...

Newly Found 2,600-Year-Old Seal Could Be From a Royal Official in King Josiah’s Time

6 August 2025

6 August 2025

Newly discovered clay seal may connect to a high-ranking official from King Josiah’s court, offering a rare, tangible link to...

Archaeologists discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms, interiors of which covered with figural scenes unique to Christian art

7 April 2023

7 April 2023

Archaeologists of the Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw discovered an enigmatic complex of rooms made...

A Roman sarcophagus bearing the title of “Emperor’s Protector” was found for the first time in Anatolia

29 April 2022

29 April 2022

A sarcophagus carrying the title of “Emperor’s protector” was discovered in the province of Kocaeli in western Turkey. With the...

The Kyrgyz epic ‘Manas’ manuscripts were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World

10 June 2023

10 June 2023

Manuscripts of the Kyrgyz epic “Manas” by narrator Sagymbay Orozbakov have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World...

6,000-Year-Old Settlement Was home to Europe’s first megalithic monument makers

22 February 2023

22 February 2023

Archaeologists in France unearthed the remains of a series of wooden buildings within a defensive enclosure that were built at...

Crowned figure holding a 13th-century falcon found in Oslo

17 December 2021

17 December 2021

Archaeologist Ann-Ingeborg Floa Grindhaug discovered a three-inch-long figure carved from bone or antler amid the ruins of a fortified royal...

Hoard of Thousands of Coins Buried During Europe’s Most Turbulent Years Discovered

14 September 2025

14 September 2025

Discovery in Świerszczów near Hrubieszów sheds light on everyday currency and hidden treasures of the early modern era A remarkable...

Scenes of Warriors from 6th Century BC on a Slate Plaque Discovered at Tartessian Site in Spain

6 June 2024

6 June 2024

Archaeologists representing Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC) excavating at the archaeological site of Casas del Turunuelo have uncovered a slate...