Archaeologists first discovered the building in 2021 after coming across an explanation left by 17th-century priest and historian Rodrigo Caro. He described Utrera (a municipality in southwestern Spain, near Seville) as a place “inhabited only by foreigners and Jews” before he was even born. For this reason, it was called the Val de Judíos (Valley of the Jews). Caro notes that their synagogue is located “where Mercy Hospital is now.” Thus, scientists who knew the location of the hospital were able to find the synagogue as well.

What have archaeologists learned?

Utrera Synagogue It was built in the 1300s. He probably caught the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. It has been reused and added over the years, according to archaeologist Miguel Ángel de Dios, who led the scientific study of the building.

Historical reference:

• Antisemitism in Spain increased in the 12th and 13th centuries, but reached its peak at the end of the 14th century and turned into a massacre in 1391.
• By some estimates, as many as 50,000 Jews were killed during this wave of violence, after which nearly a quarter of a million converted to Catholicism to escape persecution.
• A century later, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella issued the Alhambra Edict in 1492 to expel all remaining Jews in Spain. The aim was to limit their influence to those who converted after the 1391 massacre.
• In doing so, they achieved a goal long pursued by Tomás de Torquemada, the great interrogator of the Spanish Inquisition, who believed that converts posed a threat to Catholic religious and social life.

The Utrera Synagogue, whose identity was revealed on February 8, is an incredibly rare example of medieval Jewish religious life in Spain. Archaeologists have restored important parts of the synagogue complex, including the sanctuary where the ark was kept, the sacred scrolls of the Torah.. Now researchers are trying to determine where the mikvah, a ritual bath, was located. They are also looking for a rabbinical house and a rabbinical school.

“Synagogue remains on the Iberian Peninsula are limited,” says Julie Harris, expert on Iberian-Jewish material culture. This finding is therefore extremely important.