More Mosaics at Huqoq

While excavating a new section in the ruins of the central area of a fifth-century C.E. synagogue at Huqoq, Israel, archaeologists exposed a bear’s hind leg and, soon after, a leopard chasing a gazelle. As the team moved to the east, they uncovered pairs of animals marching into a large boat. The scene depicts Noah’s ark (Genesis 6:19–20). Next the excavators turned to the south and discovered Egyptian soldiers gripping their shields and spears while the fish-filled waters of the Red Sea descend on them, their horses and their chariots—the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 14:26). Previous mosaic depictions of […]