Umm el-Qanatir

'spring of the arches'), is a former ancient Jewish synagogue and archaeological site, located on the Golan Heights, in modern-day Syria, whose main phase is dated to the mid-5th–8th centuries.

[1][2] Excavations have revealed a Roman-period Pagan and later Jewish settlement, who left behind the ruins of a synagogue when they abandoned the town after it being destroyed by the catastrophic 749 earthquake.

[1] Identification attempts based on Jewish sources have led to two possible ancient names: Kantur, mentioned by Rabbi Menachem di Luzano in his book Ma'arikh (16th/early 17th century);[6] and Qamtra, the name of a place mentioned in the Talmud and with a Jewish past dating back to the Byzantine period.

[9] The name of the site derives from its location 200 metres from a natural spring that flows from the cliff into three basins that were once topped by monumental basalt arches, one of which has survived.

[1] Some Israeli authorities are starting to use the new Hebrew name of Ein Keshatot ("Spring of the Arches"), such as seen on official postage stamps.

[2] Local Syrian shepherds continued to inhabit the ruins of Umm el-Qanatir into the 1950s, reusing the carved stones.

Basalt arch over the spring
View from Umm el-Qanatir towards south west
The ancient synagogue from the air, 2013
The synagogue reconstruction in progress, 2008