18 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

A mysterious lead tablet with an unknown 13th-14th-century script: Might be an old Lithuanian script?

26 February 2024

26 February 2024

In the Museum of the Palace of the Grand Dukes in Vilnius, Lithuania, a mysterious lead tablet dating back to...

Intact Bodies of Catalan Nobles Discovered in Santes Creus Monastery

11 March 2024

11 March 2024

A team of archaeologists and anthropologists found the human remains of a dozen members of the Catalan nobility dating back...

A former Spanish disco-pub confirmed as lost medieval Synagogue

11 February 2023

11 February 2023

In the Andalucian city of Utrera, archaeologists have uncovered the remains of a 14th-century synagogue. The discovery, made public on...

Comb and gold hair-ring dating back more than 3,000 years unearthed in south Wales

14 July 2023

14 July 2023

Archeologists in south Wales, have unearthed a golden hair ring and the oldest wooden comb ever found in the U.K....

19 funerary tombs from Roman times were discovered in Tartus, Syria

27 May 2022

27 May 2022

During search and excavation operations in the archaeological area of Amrit in Tartus, Syria, a joint excavation team from the...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Celebrates 151th Anniversary of Its Establishment

13 April 2021

13 April 2021

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the few museums in the world, celebrates the 151st anniversary of its establishment....

A first in 35 years! Child grave with bracelets and gifts found in ancient city of Kelenderis

25 June 2022

25 June 2022

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Kelenderis, founded on the Mediterranean coast in the southern province of...

An Elamite inscription attributed to Xerxes the Great was found at Persepolis

26 February 2022

26 February 2022

During the classification and documentation project of inscribed objects and fragmentary inscriptions in the Persepolis Museum reserves, experts discovered a...

Ancient quarry discovered near Tas-Silġ archaeological complex in Malta

28 May 2023

28 May 2023

The Malta Superintendence of Cultural Heritage announced on Friday that trenching works by the Water Services Corporation had uncovered an...

Return of a 4,250-year-old Hattian golden beak-spouted ewer to Turkey

27 October 2021

27 October 2021

The 4,250-year-old golden beak-spouted ewer was returned to the Anatolian Civilizations Museum by the Gilbert Art Foundation. Culture and Tourism...

Sicily: Archaeologists make striking discovery in Segesta

8 June 2021

8 June 2021

Archaeological excavations in the Segesta Archaeological Park, investigating a “monumental edifice” near the portico at the end of the old...

An 8500-year-old wooden ladder remain was discovered at Çatalhöyük

12 April 2022

12 April 2022

Remains of the wooden ladder were discovered for the first time in Çatalhöyük, one of the best-preserved Neolithic settlements in...

2,300-year-old Buddhist temple discovered in Pakistan

23 December 2021

23 December 2021

Remains of a 2300 years old Buddhist Temple have been discovered in Northwest Pakistan by a joint team of Pakistani...

Oldest US firearm unearthed in Arizona, a 500-year-old bronze cannon linked to Coronado expedition

27 November 2024

27 November 2024

Independent researchers in Arizona have unearthed a bronze cannon linked to the 16th-century expedition of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, and...

Rare Roman Marble Sarcophagus Depicting Dionysus and Hercules Discovered in Caesarea, Israel — A First of Its Kind

9 June 2025

9 June 2025

A rare Roman-era marble sarcophagus featuring a vivid scene of a mythological drinking contest between Dionysus, the god of wine,...