A 2,000-year-old Jewish farming village has been unearthed on the outskirts of a West Bank settlement, including the remains of what appears to be one of the oldest synagogues ever discovered.

Archaeologists found dozens of stone houses separated by paved streets, wine and olive oil presses, warehouses and stables at the site, as well as traditional Jewish ritual baths, candles, pottery and utensils dating from the end of first century B.C.A cache of gold and silver coins was discovered at the site this week.

The village was unearthed during construction to expand the Kiryat Sefer settlement, 18 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Excavation began in August, but the find was made public only Tuesday.

The village is just a couple of miles from the site of an ancient burial chamber discovered last week and believed used by the Maccabees, a clan of Jewish warriors, or their descendants.

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Archaeologists said, however, that they do not believe Maccabees lived in the village at Kiryat Sefer.

In the center of the village is a large building paved with smooth rectangular stones. Inside are stone benches and the remains of four pillars. Yitzhak Magen, the archaeologist in charge of the site, said the layout is same as that of synagogues found at Masada, Herodium and Gamla, in the Golan Heights - the only other known synagogues dating back that far.

"We knew from historical sources - from the New Testament - that every settlement had a synagogue. This is the first proof," Magen said Tuesday.

Based on dates on coins found in the village, Jews probably lived there until early in the second century, said Magen. The village may have been abandoned during the Bar Kochba revolt in the middle of the century, when the Romans destroyed hundreds of towns on their way to putting down the Jewish rebellion.

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