Located on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the town of Magdala became an important economic center during the 1st century CE; it is also thought to be the birthplace of the New Testament’s Mary Magdalene. The wealth generated by the export of salted fish, and perhaps glass vessels and other manufactured goods as well, accounts for the size of the town’s ruins, which archaeologists are still excavating, as well as its elaborate synagogue. Marcela Zapata-Meza writes:
Magdala’s income sources could allow the residents to afford expensive and well-constructed buildings, such as the 1st-century CE synagogue and Jewish ritual baths discovered in excavations. Magdala is the only town in Galilee, so far, [where archaeologists have found] a 1st-century synagogue with frescoes, mosaics, and a unique Second Temple model carved in stone. [This is the only such stone to be] discovered in the biblical lands. The Jewish ritual baths . . . are [also] dated to the 1st century CE and are fed by underground water.
Read more on Bible History Daily: http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-places/the-fishy-secret-to-ancient-magdalas-economic-growth/