Yekuteli, the Israeli archaeologist, said “the most surprising thing” was that no one had written about the buried objects, and they were only discovered when excavations began.
While Jewish tradition dictates that such texts are never destroyed, it is unusual to bury them at such sites.
Artifacts discovered and carefully cataloged by the team include commercial contracts and marriage certificates, everyday utensils and coins.
The synagogue was already beginning to fall into disrepair when robbers attempted to raid the buried cache.
“The good news is that one of these beams has collapsed, making access difficult,” Yekutieli said.
A similar looting attempt was recorded at the ruined synagogue of Aguerd Tamanart, located in another oasis some 70 kilometers (45 mi) southwest of Akka, where excavations began in 2021.
In this case, the artifacts were not buried, but hidden in a secret compartment behind a collapsed wall.
The team was able to save approximately 100,000 objects, including fragments of manuscripts and amulets.