{"id":14116,"date":"2016-07-05T10:20:28","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T15:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=14116"},"modified":"2016-07-05T10:20:28","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T15:20:28","slug":"mosaics-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=14116","title":{"rendered":"New mosaics discovered in synagogue excavations in Galilee"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fish
The scene of the parting of the Red Sea shows Pharaoh\u2019s soldiers being swallowed by large fish, surrounded by overturned chariots with horses and chariot drivers. (Photo by Jim Haberman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Excavations this summer in the Late Roman (fifth century) synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village in Israel\u2019s Lower Galilee, have revealed stunning new mosaics that decorated the floor. The excavations are directed by Jodi Magness, a professor in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill College of Arts and Sciences, along with Assistant Director Shua Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority.<\/p>\n

The mosaic panels decorating the floor of the synagogue\u2019s nave (center of the hall) portray two biblical stories: Noah\u2019s Ark and the parting of the Red Sea. The panel with Noah\u2019s Ark depicts an ark and pairs of animals, including elephants, leopards, donkeys, snakes, bears, lions, ostriches, camels, sheep and goats. The scene of the parting of the Red Sea shows Pharaoh\u2019s soldiers being swallowed by large fish, surrounded by overturned chariots with horses and chariot drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese scenes are very rare in ancient synagogues,\u201d said Magness, Kenan Distinguished Professor. \u201cThe only other examples that have been found are at Gerasa\/Jerash in Jordan and Mopsuestia\/Misis in Turkey (Noah\u2019s Ark), and at Khirbet Wadi Hamam in Israel and Dura Europos in Syria (the parting of the Red Sea).\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UNC
UNC students with Jodi Magness (third row, first from left). (Photo by Jim Haberman)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mosaics were first discovered at the site in 2012, and excavations have since continued each summer. In 2012, a mosaic depicting Samson and the foxes (as related in the Bible\u2019s Judges 15:4) was found in the synagogue\u2019s east aisle. The next summer, an adjacent mosaic was uncovered that shows Samson carrying the gate of Gaza on his shoulders (Judges 16:3). Another mosaic discovered and excavated in the synagogue\u2019s east aisle in 2013 and 2014 depicts the first non-biblical story ever found decorating an ancient synagogue \u2014 perhaps the legendary meeting between Alexander the Great and the Jewish high priest. A mosaic panel uncovered in 2015 next to this scene contains a Hebrew inscription surrounded by human figures, animals and mythological creatures including putti (cupids).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is by far the most extensive series of biblical stories ever found decorating the mosaic floor of an ancient synagogue,\u201d said Magness. \u201cThe arrangement of the mosaics in panels on the floor brings to mind the synagogue at Dura Europos in Syria, where an array of biblical stories is painted in panels on the walls.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mosaics have been removed from the site for conservation, and the excavated areas have been backfilled. Excavations are scheduled to continue in summer 2017. For additional information and updates, visit the project\u2019s website: www.huqoq.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UNC-Chapel Hill, Baylor University, Brigham Young University and the University of Toronto are project sponsors. Students and staff from Carolina and the consortium schools participated in the dig. Financial support for the 2016 season was also provided by the National Geographic Society, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture and the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UNC-Chapel Hill archaeologist and project leader Jodi Magness says no other ancient synagogue contains such a rich collection of mosaics depicting biblical stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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