The Northampton Medieval Synagogue is an archaeological site and medieval synagogue building in Sheep Street, Northampton, England.
A synagogue, is a Jewish or Samaritan house of worship.
Northampton is the county town of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England. It lies on the River Nene, about 60 miles (97 km) north-west of London and 45 miles (72 km) south-east of Birmingham. It is one of the largest towns in the UK. Northampton had a population of 212,100 in the 2011 census.
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north-northwest. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.
The synagogue was discovered in 2010 by Marcus Roberts of National Anglo-Jewish Heritage Trail (JTrails) after many years of researching Northampton's medieval Jewish history. Records tell that the synagogue appeared to have survived the expulsion of Jews in 1290 and the great fire of Northampton in 1674. Town clerk records from 1751 describe the building as "very substantial; a fair stately hall." [1]
Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their religion and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenistic period and the earliest mention of Israel is inscribed on the Merneptah Stele dated 1213–1203 BCE, religious literature tells the story of Israelites going back at least as far as c. 1500 BCE. The Jewish diaspora began with the Assyrian captivity and continued on a much larger scale with the Babylonian captivity. Jews were also widespread throughout the Roman Empire, and this carried on to a lesser extent in the period of Byzantine rule in the central and eastern Mediterranean. In 638 CE the Byzantine Empire lost control of the Levant. The Arab Islamic Empire under Caliph Omar conquered Jerusalem and the lands of Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. The Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain coincided with the Middle Ages in Europe, a period of Muslim rule throughout much of the Iberian Peninsula. During that time, Jews were generally accepted in society and Jewish religious, cultural, and economic life blossomed.
The remains of the medieval synagogue include stone walls and a stone staircase located 12 feet underneath a kebab shop, the Kebabish takeaway, and a neighbourhood pub. A wall in the cellar of the pub, named "The Bear," was part of the ancient synagogue. [1]
Kebabs are various cooked meat dishes, with their origins in Middle Eastern cuisine. Many variants are popular throughout Asia, and around the world.
A pub, or public house, is an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic drinks, which traditionally include beer and cider. It is a social drinking establishment and a prominent part of British, Irish, Breton, New Zealand, Canadian, South African and Australian cultures. In many places, especially in villages, a pub is the focal point of the community. In his 17th-century diary Samuel Pepys described the pub as "the heart of England".
Northampton was among the largest medieval Jewish communities in England. Remnants of a Jewish cemetery have also been discovered by archaeologists.
A cemetery or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word cemetery implies that the land is specifically designated as a burial ground and originally applied to the Roman catacombs. The term graveyard is often used interchangeably with cemetery, but a graveyard primarily refers to a burial ground within a churchyard.
