13 July 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

Ancient Celtic Bone Pen Found in Southern Germany

14 December 2024

14 December 2024

From August to October this year, the State Office for the Preservation of Monuments (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council...

Medieval Rye: From Humble Weed to Powerful Staple – New Study Reveals Surprising Farming Secrets

27 May 2025

27 May 2025

Discover how medieval rye cultivation was far more advanced than previously believed. New research reveals intensive farming and fertilizing techniques...

Rare textiles and dwellings discovered in the submerged Neolithic settlement near Rome

6 June 2023

6 June 2023

Underwater archaeologists have discovered rare, well-preserved textiles, basketry, and cordage from the early Neolithic period in an area near Rome,...

The ability to produce ceramic vessels came to Europe via Siberia and the Caspian Sea region

6 January 2023

6 January 2023

A new study suggests that the knowledge for making ceramic vessels came to Europe from the Middle East and the...

Ice Age Cave Entrance that Nobody has Entered for 16,000 Years found in Germany

4 August 2023

4 August 2023

Researchers report they have discovered the official entrance to an Ice Age cave near Engen, Germany, that nobody has entered...

A 3800-year-old cylinder seal was discovered at Turkey’s Tepebag Mound excavations

8 July 2022

8 July 2022

In the 2022 excavations of Tepebag Mound, located around Taşköprü, the center of Adana province in Turkey’s Mediterranean Region, a...

A farmer picking up ‘trash’ in field in Norway discovered a rare Viking Sword

1 June 2024

1 June 2024

A farmer and his son found a rare Viking sword on his family farm in Suldal, Norway. Archaeologists say this...

An Unusual Artifact Points to Roman Britain Rituals Linked to Fertility, Painted Dog Penis Bone Found in England

9 January 2025

9 January 2025

In a Roman quarry shaft in Surrey, England, archaeologists have discovered one of the most unusual human and animal remains...

The biblical narrative of Sodom may have been inspired by a cosmic meteorite that devastated an ancient city

21 September 2021

21 September 2021

The Bible account of Sodom’s destruction lies at the heart of classic “fire and brimstone” judgment day prophesies. But what...

The oldest ceramic roof tiles ever found in land of Israel may be from Antiochus’ Lost Citadel in Jerusalem

6 December 2023

6 December 2023

The 16 ceramic roof tile fragments, from the Hellenistic period in the second century BCE, were discovered during an archaeological...

Relief masks discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Kastabala

7 January 2022

7 January 2022

In the ancient city of Kastabala (Castabala), which dates back to 500 BC, located in Turkey’s southern province of Osmaniye,...

An Urartian female executive grave was found at the Çavuştepe Mound

9 September 2021

9 September 2021

The grave of an Urartian, who was buried with his horse, cattle, and dog, had been found recently. Today, another...

World’s Only Ancient Wooden Twin-Hulled Boats Unearthed in Vietnam

20 May 2025

20 May 2025

A groundbreaking archaeological discovery in Bac Ninh province, northern Vietnam, has brought to light two remarkably well-preserved ancient wooden boats,...

Italian Versailles being returned to its former glory through

17 May 2023

17 May 2023

The Italian Royal Palace of Caserta, a long-neglected near Naples, is being restored to its former glory through a vast...

6,000-year-old Finds in Dorset Downs

11 June 2021

11 June 2021

In the Dorset Downs, a significant landscaping project has revealed a plethora of intriguing findings on a grand scale. Excavations...