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1,700-year-old Matzoh-baking Ovens Found During Excavation in Italy

January 10, 1962
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Ovens used by an ancient Jewish community in this country for baking matzoh were discovered among the ruins of what may have been the oldest synagogue in Europe, it was reported here today by Prof, Maria Floriani Squarciaspino, a noted Italian archeologist.

The ovens were found at the site of the old synagogue, near the seaside resort of Ostia, and probably date back to about the year 300 of the Christian Era, Dr. Squarciapino said. The Temple, recently discovered in diggings near Ostia, was identified as a Jewish house of worship, she said, by engravings of a menorah at the base and tops of two broken columns measuring two feet in diameter and 40 feet in height.

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