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Israel, Masada Ancient Synagogue

This early synagogue does not contain any bema (raised platform), as found in some later synagogues. It was constructed when Masada was first built as a palace-retreat for Herod the Great in the late first century BCE. Also it is not oriented toward Jerusalem, as was traditional in synagogues built later—after the fall of the Second Temple. That small room may have functioned as Genizah; a place to store the sacred scrolls