<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Site notes </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Condition </Th> <Td> ruin </Td> </Tr> <P> The Dura - Europos synagogue (or "Dura Europas", "Dura Europos" etc .) is an ancient synagogue uncovered at Dura - Europos, Syria, in 1932 . The last phase of construction was dated by an Aramaic inscription to 244 CE, making it one of the oldest synagogues in the world . It is unique among the many ancient synagogues that have emerged from archaeological digs as the structure was preserved virtually intact, and it had extensive figurative wall - paintings, which came as a considerable surprise to scholars . These paintings are now displayed in the National Museum of Damascus . </P> <P> Dura - Europos was a small garrison and trading city on the river Euphrates, and usually on the frontier between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Parthian and finally the Sassanid Empires of Persia . It changed hands at various points but was Roman from 165 CE . Before the final Persian destruction of the town in 256 - 257 CE, parts of the synagogue which abutted the main city wall were apparently requisitioned and filled with sand as a defensive measure . The city was abandoned after its fall and never resettled, and the lower walls of the rooms remained buried and largely intact until excavated . The excavations discovered also very important wall - paintings from places of worship of Christianity, at the Dura - Europos church, and Mithraism, and fragmentary Christian texts in Hebrew . </P>

The really important artifact(s) from the synagogue at dura europos is(are)