Object description

Naaran is an ancient Jewish village dating to the 5th and 6th century CE, located in the West Bank. Remains of the village have been excavated north of Jericho, in Ephraim, between Bethel and Jericho. The mosaic floor of a synagogue was discovered at the site featuring a large zodiac design. Naaran is mentioned in Joshua 16:7 and 1 Chronicles 7:28 as a town in the eastern part of Ephraim. Eusebius, in his Onomasticon, makes mention of the site, saying that in his day it was "a village inhabited by Jews, five [Roman] miles from Jericho." The site is also named in the writings of Josephus , under its name , and in the Midrash Rabba . Aramaic inscriptions and mosaics from the synagogue are displayed at an archaeology museum established by the Israeli archaeologist Yitzhak Magen at the Good Samaritan Inn.