Untitled

24
Synagogue architecture containing actual
aediculae and niches such as Hammath Tiberias,
Sepphoris, and Susiya also show in their mosaic
renditions an Ark of the Scrolls standing within
the Torah shrine in the form of an aedicula or
niche (pl. II.1, fig. II-10), whereas the synagogues
with apses such as Beth "Alpha, Na#aran, and Jericho
(pl. II.2, fig. II-11) portray on their mosaic
pavements the Ark of the Scrolls standing inside
the apse independent of any enclosure.
The panel with the Torah shrine façade containing
the Ark of the Scrolls is rendered on three
mosaic pavements: Hammath Tiberias, Sepphoris,
and Susiya (pl. II.1, fig. II-10):
chapter two
Figure II-10. Mosaic panel of the Torah shrine enclosing the Ark of the Scrolls flanked by pairs of menoroth and ritual
objects: a. Hammath Tiberias; b. Sepphoris; c. Susiya.
The mosaic pavement of Hammath Tiberias
(Dothan 1983: 33-39, pl. 27) shows a façade of
two columns, each standing on a pedestal supporting
a pediment decorated with a conch (pl. II.1a,
fig. II-10a). Three steps between the columns lead
up. The structure of the Torah shrine containing
the Ark of the Scrolls is depicted as double
carved doors partly hidden by the parochet (veil).
The menoroth portrayed in the synagogue
mosaic floor at Hammath-Tiberias have an elaborated
tripod base consisting of a concave plate
terminating in animal legs (Hachlili 2001: 135,
fig. III,10c). The menorah arms are particularly
ornate, composed of a sequence of alternating