Archaeologists find early menorah depiction

JERUSALEM — Israeli archaeologists say they have uncovered one of the earliest depictions of a menorah, the seven-branched candelabra that has come to symbolize Judaism.

The menorah was engraved in stone around 2,000 years ago and found in a synagogue recently discovered by the Sea of Galilee.

Archaeologist Dina Avshalom-Gorni says the synagogue dates to the time of the second Jewish temple in Jerusalem, where the actual menorah was kept. She suggested today that the artist might have seen the menorah during a pilgrimage.

The prayer house was discovered in the town of Migdal, usually identified as the birthplace of the New Testament’s Mary Magdalene, whose name is thought to be based on the town’s.