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The oldest original synagogue building in the Diaspora: the Delos synagogue reconsidered
Hesperia, Fall, 2004 by Monika Trumper
Because of the concentration on the interpretation of the previously mentioned inscriptions, the function or functions of the votives and honorific bases that bear them has often been neglected. Two of the six bases that were either found in or attributed to GD 80 were discussed by Mazur as evidence against the synagogue theory. They show cuttings and the remains of lead in the top surface that might have served for the soldering of bronze figurines ("idols"), except that their form and size do not correspond to the usual bases for statuettes in Delos; both are much higher than the average bases for votives and statuettes and could, therefore, have supported larger objects, such as basins or tables. (170)
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Three of the remaining four small votives resemble strongly the numerous "altar-incense burners" known from Delos, were certainly modeled after them and, most probably, were used accordingly. (171) This is quite remarkable because it is usually thought that the sacrifice of animals and the offering of vegetables and incense was confined mainly to the Temple in Jerusalem. In addition, such sacrifices were part of the sacred rituals in some early temple-synagogues in the Diaspora, where a gradual shift from animal sacrifice to the offering of vegetable and incense took place in the Hellenistic period. But the synagogue in Delos is normally counted among the examples with a more recent history of Jewish presence that focused from the beginning on the reading of the Torah and other synagogue rituals. (172) The evidence for possible incense offerings allows the synagogue building in Delos to modify this picture slightly, the more so because the votives were obviously kept--and presumably used--until the abandonment of the building. The burning of incense conforms to local practice because the required items have been found in large numbers in sanctuaries and houses all over Delos.
Unlike the votives, the two inscribed Samaritan stelai (173) that were found north of the synagogue, but that might originally have been set up in the building, had the function of only documenting and perpetuating the honors that a grateful group of Samaritans bestowed on their benefactors.
It remains to be considered where and how the different votives and honorific bases were presented within the context of the building. Some bases and stelai were not worked on the back and were, therefore, clearly conceived for a position in front of a wall or column. (174) They could have been set up along the walls without benches in rooms A and B, or in the porticoes. This holds true also for the freestanding examples that are worked on all sides, because a position in the middle of A or B does not seem very practical for circulation within, and the regular use of, these rooms.
According to Bruneau, the two Samaritan stelai were inserted into a wall and faced the interior of a second synagogue, but this hypothesis is not very convincing. In such a case the stelai, of remarkably different ages (250-175 B.C. and 150-50 B.C.), either must have been integrated into the wall when it was built, and/or the wall must have been partly demolished before it could receive them. If both stelai were integrated into the wall at the same time, then the earlier one must have been set up elsewhere originally, and thus could not be used to date the wall or the building where it was found. If they were not integrated at the same time, the later one must have been inserted subsequently, requiring a partial destruction and rebuilding of the wall. The parallel that Bruneau cites as evidence for incorporation into a wall was certainly an instance of subsequent and rather crude insertion. (175) Therefore the possibility cannot be ruled out--and seems, indeed, more likely--that the stelai in question were set up in front of a wall, with or without bases. (176)
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