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"The Pompeii of the desert":Dura Europas is a remarkable archaological site in Mesopotamia.
On the banks of the Euphrates it was a cosmopolitan Romanised city which fell to the Persians in 256 CE.
Best Preserved ancient Synagogue, Oldest Christian building and a Temple of Mithras
(also some interesting well preserved Roman Armour).
The pictures provide a wonderful insight into Jewish dress in the approximate time and place where the Rabbis of the Babylonian Talmudic were living.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dura-Europos
Some pictures here:
http://divdl.library.yale.edu/dl/Browse.aspx?qc=Eikon&qs=464
From most of the studies of writings of the period we have the impression that Jews covered their heads or at least wore head coverings much of the time.
However contrary to this in most of the pictures the men are wearing Roman garb and are bare headed (even Moses). None of the men (apart from the High Priest) seem to have their heads covered and tsitsit are only worn by Moshe Rabenu. (In the Persian scenes from Daniel and the book of Esther men are in Persian style dress including head covering. Dura was a Roman garrison on the border of the Persian Empire so the people were familiar with Persian dress).
I am unsure how to reconcile this with accounts from the Talmud Bavli that Rabbis or married men wore a head covering called a Sudar in Hebrew or Sudra in Aramaic (the Sudarium was a Roman "sweat cloth" worn by Legionaries). Maybe this only came in later. Maybe it was worn in some regions but not in others.
Another feature of the pictures in the Synagogue at Dura is the pose adopted for prayer - a formal pose where the hands are uplifted and apart in petition. I speculate whether this could be the reason we say "al netilat yadayim" (who has commanded us concerning the raising of our hands) when we wash before worship (prayer or eating bread). Just a thought.
