Archeologists uncover floor of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, destroyed by the Nazis and Soviets

( JTA ) — A new excavation has unearthed parts of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, once the oldest and most important building for Lithuanian Jews before it was destroyed by the Nazis and razed by the Soviets.

Archeologists found the synagogue floor decorated with red, black and white flowers, along with the remains of a vibrant wall painted in red and blue, they said on Thursday. They also uncovered part of the women’s gallery, water reservoirs used for the mikvah (or ritual bath) and a large pillar that once flanked the bimah (or prayer platform), now collapsed on its side.

This latest excavation is the fifth in a series that began in 2015, when a ground-penetrating radar first traced remnants of the synagogue. Previous sessions revealed the bimah, the Torah ark and Torah scroll and a Hebrew inscription. The project is led by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Association of Lithuanian Archeology, the Good Will Foundation and Lithuania’s Jewish community.

“The magnificent remains we are discovering — the synagogue bimah that was uncovered during the previous excavation seasons, as well as the colorful decorations of the floor and walls — bring back moments in the life of a lost vibrant community,” said the excavation directors, Jon Seligman of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Justinas Rakas of the Lithuanian Archeological Society, in a statement.

The Great Synagogue of Vilna, now known as Vilnius in Lithuania, was built in the 17th century  in a Renaissance-Baroque style and formed the heart of a thriving Jewish community. Before the Holocaust, the synagogue was surrounded by a complex filled with Jewish life, including 12 synagogues, study houses, kosher meat stalls, a bathhouse and the famous Strashun Library , one of the most important Jewish cultural institutions in Eastern Europe before its destruction in World War II.

Lithuania’s Jews had a distinct culture, including their own dialect of Yiddish , and played a profound role in developing Jewish thought. Vilnius attracted many celebrated Yiddish writers and scholars, earning it a nickname as the “Jerusalem of the North.”

During the Holocaust, the Nazis killed over 90% of Lithuanian Jews and looted and burned the Great Synagogue. After Lithuania came under Communist control, Soviet authorities demolished the synagogue’s remnants in the 1950s and built a school on its site.

Soviet rule, which lasted until 1990, delayed any reckoning with the country’s Holocaust history, both the destruction wrought by the Nazis and the role that local collaborators played. Only in the last few years has the country allocated any funding to survivors of the Holocaust in Lithuania.