Ancient Jewish Manuscript Fragment Unearthed in Moroccan Synagogue Excavation

The excavations carried out by the Moroccan archaeologist Saghir Mabrouk, from the Moroccan Institute INSAP, and his Israeli counterpart, Yuval Yekutieli, from Ben Gurion University of the Negev, are part of a project to explore and rehabilitate the Judeo-Moroccan heritage. It is led by a team of six Moroccan, Israeli and French researchers.

The synagogue in which the piece of manuscript was found is located in the village of Tagadirt, in southern Morocco, and is "built in the middle of the Mellah in earthen architecture in the pre-Saharan architectural tradition". Since the resumption of relations between Morocco and Israel, many scientific collaborations are being highlighted and will, the officials of the two countries hope, lead to the reconstruction of the history of the Judeo-Moroccan heritage.