Umm el Kanatir (Israel)

Umm el-Qanatir, also spelled Umm el-Kanatir (Arabic: ام القناطر, romanized: Umm al-Qanāṭir, lit. 'mother of the arches'), known as Ein Keshatot (Hebrew: עין קשתות, lit. 'spring of the arches') in Israel and by settlers, is an archaeological site, located on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, whose main phase is dated to the mid-5th–8th centuries. 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. The archaeological site is located 10 km (6.2 mi) east of the Dead Sea Transform, and 1 km (0.62 mi) southwest of Natur. 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); and Qamtra, the name of a place mentioned in the Talmud and with a Jewish past dating back to the Byzantine period.