BITS AND PIECES. Clumps of small stone tesserae in the fill just inside the synagogue’s plastered eastern wall (visible at bottom of photo) hinted at the presence of a mosaic. When the scrape of a hoe finally revealed a woman’s face in the dirt, it became clear that the synagogue boasted a high-quality mosaic pavement. Only a few preserved sections have been exposed thus far inside the excavation square. The border includes a broad white area (at the bottom of the photo) and black strips on either side of a braided guilloche motif.