ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY: MONUMENTAL SYNAGOGUE BUILDING DISCOVERED IN
EXCAVATIONS IN GALILEE

A monumental synagogue building dating to the Late Roman period (ca. 4th-5th
centuries C.E.) has been discovered in archaeological excavations at Huqoq
in Israel’s Galilee.

The excavations are being conducted by Jodi Magness
http://jodimagness.org
of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and David Amit and Shua
Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority
http://www.antiquities.org.il/home_eng.asp
under the sponsorship of UNC, Brigham Young University in Utah, Trinity
University in Texas, the University of Oklahoma and the University of
Toronto in Canada. Students and staff from UNC
http://studyabroad.unc.edu/programs.cfm?pk=2081&test
and the consortium schools are participating in the dig.

Huqoq is an ancient Jewish village located approximately two to three miles
west of Capernaum and Migdal (Magdala). This second season of excavations
has revealed portions of a stunning mosaic floor decorating the interior of
the synagogue building. The mosaic, which is made of tiny colored stone
cubes of the highest quality, includes a scene depicting Samson placing
torches between the tails of foxes (as related in the book of Judges 15).
In another part of the mosaic, two human (apparently female) faces flank a
circular medallion with a Hebrew inscription that refers to rewards for
those who perform good deeds.

“This discovery is significant because only a small number of ancient (Late
Roman) synagogue buildings are decorated with mosaics showing biblical
scenes, and only two others have scenes with Samson (one is at another site
just a couple of miles from Huqoq),” said Magness, the Kenan Distinguished
Professor in the Department of Religious Studies in UNC’s College of Arts
and Sciences. “Our mosaics are also important because of their high artistic
quality and the tiny size of the mosaic cubes. This, together with the
monumental size of the stones used to construct the synagogue’s walls,
suggest a high level of prosperity in this village, as the building clearly
was very costly.”

Excavations are scheduled to continue in summer 2013.

Click on the link below to download high resolution photographs:
http://www.antiquities.org.il/about_eng.asp?Modul_id=14

Photographic Credit: Jim Haberman

For farther details, Please contact Jodi Magness at magness@email.unc.edu
or 052-6611542