BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

The Secrets of Huqoq

New exhibit illuminates Jewish life in the ancient Galilean village

The Samson mosaic from the Roman-Byzantine synagogue at Huqoq. Courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority.

The ancient Galilean village of Huqoq has emerged as one of the region’s most remarkable archaeological sites, offering an extraordinary window into Jewish life during the Roman-Byzantine period. Excavations have uncovered the remains of an entire settlement, including a synagogue, a natural spring, agricultural installations, ritual baths (mikva’ot), and three underground tunnel networks, signaling periods of danger. Archaeologists have also discovered bronze coins, a ring, and a dagger concealed within one of those underground passages.

Huqoq is perhaps best known for its spectacular synagogue, whose richly decorated mosaic floors have captivated archaeologists and the public alike. Excavated under the direction of Professor Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the synagogue contains some of the finest and most imaginative mosaics ever discovered in Israel. Their artistic quality and narrative richness distinguish them from other synagogue mosaics of the period, combining familiar biblical stories with rarer scenes. The mosaics continue to generate discussion about the Jewish community that flourished in Huqoq about 1,600 years ago.

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The Samson mosaic is perhaps the most famous. It depicts the biblical hero carrying the gates of Gaza on his shoulders. The scene draws directly from the book of Judges and demonstrates how biblical narratives were not only read and studied but also transformed into works of art within the synagogue.

Overall, the Huqoq mosaics display a remarkable range of biblical narratives, symbolic imagery, and at least one important non-biblical historical scene. Alongside Samson, mosaic panels portray Noah’s Ark, the parting of the Red Sea, Jonah and the fish, the Tower of Babel, the Twelve Spies of Canaan, and visions from the book of Daniel, including the four beasts and three youths in the fiery furnace. Another scene may show Alexander the Great with elephants alongside various Greco-Roman decorative elements. The Huqoq mosaics reflect a Jewish community that articulated its scriptural traditions through the visual language of the late Roman Galilee.

Ring, dagger, and bronze coins found in tunnels dug under Huqoq. Courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority.

Huqoq’s three discovered underground networks comprise another standout feature of the site. At least one was in use in the Roman-Byzantine era, i.e., contemporaneous with the synagogue. Finds within the tunnels—including a hoard of bronze coins, a ring, and a dagger—suggest they served a defensive or refuge-related purpose when the residents needed to hide or flee. Some link the tunnels to the broader pattern of Jewish communities preparing underground hiding places during periods of unrest, particularly in the aftermath of the Bar-Kokhba Revolt (132–136 CE) and during later instances of Roman pressure placed on Jewish communities.

A new exhibition, Secrets of Huqoq, offers the public its first opportunity to explore these discoveries while preparations continue for direct access to the archaeological site itself. Housed at the Yigal Allon Center on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, visitors can look out from the museum windows and see Horvat Huqoq in the nearby Amiad Forest.

Miniature of the Roman-Byzantine village at Huqoq, displayed at the Yigal Allon Center. Courtesy Israel Antiquities Authority.

At the heart of the exhibition is the original Samson mosaic, displayed publicly for the first time alongside the newly exhibited hoard of bronze coins recovered from the tunnels. Through archaeological finds, large-scale photos of the mosaics, a miniature model of the settlement, and an experiential space recreating part of Huqoq’s hidden underground network, visitors are invited to discover the beauty of the synagogue alongside the larger story of the village and its people. Until the archaeological site itself is ready to welcome visitors, Secrets of Huqoq provides an immersive introduction to some of the Galilee’s greatest archaeological treasures.

Lauren K. McCormick is an assistant editor at Biblical Archaeology Review and a specialist in ancient Near Eastern religions, visual culture, and the Bible. She holds degrees in religion from Syracuse University, Duke University, New York University, and Rutgers University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship on religion and the public conversation at Princeton University.

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