July 2012: An ancient synagogue building from the Late Roman period (around the 4th-5th centuries CE) has been discovered in Israel Antiquities Authority archaeological excavations at Huqoq in the Galilee. Huqoq is an ancient Jewish village located approximately two to three miles west of Capernaum and Migdal (Magdala). The excavations revealed portions of a 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 faces (likely female) flank a circular medallion with a Hebrew inscription that refers to rewards for those who perform good deeds.

Woman's head, inscription in Hebrew.

Only a small number of ancient [Late Roman] synagogue buildings are decorated with mosaics showing biblical scenes. Two other synagogue buildings have scenes with Samson, one of which is at another site a couple of miles from Huqoq. Mosaics are important because of their high artistic quality and the tiny size of the mosaic cubes. 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 obviously was very costly.

Under the sponsorship of UNC, Brigham Young University in Utah, Trinity University in Texas, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Toronto, Canada, the excavations are being conducted by Prof. Jodi Magness, David Amit and Shua Kisilevitz of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

December 2009, Archaeologists unveiled the remains of the first dwelling in Nazareth that could shed new light on what the hamlet was like during the New Testament period when Jesus lived there as a boy. Nazareth is the town where Christian tradition alleges Jesus grew up. A young Jesus may have played around the house with his cousins and friends. Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, excavations director at the Israel Antiquities Authority stated workers uncovered the first signs of the dwelling in the summer, but it became clear only that it was a structure from the era of Jesus.

The dwelling and older discoveries of nearby tombs in burial caves suggest that Nazareth was an out-of-the-way hamlet of around 50 houses on a patch of about 1.6 hectares. Archaeologist Yardena Alexandre, stated it was evidently populated by Jews of modest means who kept camouflaged grottos to hide from Roman invaders.
Alexandre’s team found a camouflaged entry way into a grotto, which was used by Jews at the time to hide from Roman soldiers who were battling Jewish rebels at the time for control of the area. The grotto would have hid around six people for a few hours. Similar camouflaged grottos were found in other ancient Jewish communities of the lower Galilee such as the nearby biblical village of Cana, which did witness battle between Jews and Romans. However, Roman soldiers did not end up battling Nazareth’s Jews because the hamlet had little strategic value at the time. The Roman army was more interested in larger towns and strategic hilltop communities.

Alexandre’s team found remains of a wall, a hideout, a courtyard and a water system that appeared to collect water from the roof and supply it to the home. The discovery was made when builders dug up the courtyard of a former convent to make room for a new Christian centre, just meters away from a Basilica. It was not clear how big the dwelling is, however Alexandre’s team have uncovered about 85 square metres of the house, which may have been for an extended family and could be much larger.

As workers at the site carefully chipped away at mud with small pickaxes to reveal stone walls, archaeologists found clay and chalk vessels which were likely used by Galilean Jews of the time. Based on clay and chalk shards found at the site, the dwelling appeared to house a “simple Jewish family.” The scientists concluded a Jewish family lived there because of the chalk, which was used by Jews at the time to ensure the purity of the food and water kept inside the vessels. The shards date back to the time of Jesus, which includes the late Hellenic, early Roman period that ranges from around 100 B.C. to 100 A.D.. The determination was made by comparing the findings to shards and remains found in other parts of the Galilee typical of that period.

The absence of any remains of glass vessels or imported products suggested the family who lived in the dwelling were “simple,” since the remains did not indicate whether they were traders or farmers. The only other artifacts that archeologists have found in the Nazareth area from the time of Jesus are ancient burial caves outside the hamlet, providing a rough idea of the village’s population at the time.

Work is now taking place to clear newer ruins built above the dwelling, which will be preserved. The dwelling will become a part of a new international Christian centre being constructed close to the site and funded by a French Roman Catholic group. Alexandre stated limited space and population density in Nazareth means it is unlikely that archeologists can carry out any further excavations in the area, leaving this dwelling to tell the story of what Jesus’ boyhood home may have looked like.

During the latter part of the war in the north archaeologists of the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered stone seals engraved with a figure of a ‘bird and an olive branch’ – is this a message from the past or a logo? In the course of routine development work during the construction of a new neighborhood next to the community of Allone Abba (north of Tivon), inspectors of the Antiquities Authority’s were surprised when they discovered a very beautiful olive press that was installed inside of a rock-hewn cave. The olive press, which was used for the industrial production of olive oil, was in use more than 2,000 years ago.

A stone seal with a drawing of a bird and an olive branch was discovered on the floor of the cave. The excavations began prior to the war and were recently completed. Due to the beauty and importance of the site the Antiquities Authority recommends preserving it as an educational and cultural site. An olive oil plant, more than 2,000 years old, for manufacturing olive oil on an industrial scale, was exposed in excavations conducted by the Antiquities Authority next to Allone Abba. The olive press, consisting of a number of installations, was installed inside of a rock-hewn cave. On one side of the cave was the basin (yam), on which the olives were crushed, on top of which was a revolving stone wheel (memel) that was rotated by an animal.

On the other side of the cave was a press consisting of a pair of stone piers (betulot) between which the baskets of olives were placed, and the press beam (the bad – Hebrew: a large branch after which an olive press – beit bad – is named) that was set on top of the baskets. Four heavy stone weights were suspended on the beam and thus the oil was extracted from the olives. The finds from the olive oil plant indicate that it was first used in the Hellenistic period (4th-1st centuries BCE) and continued to operate in the Early Roman period (1st century CE).

Bone spoons used for scooping up the olive paste from the basin and a stone seal engraved with a bird and an olive branch, the purpose of which has yet to be ascertained, were found on the floor of the cave. The work at Allone Abba is being directed by Leah Porat, an archaeologist with the Antiquities Authority. Due to the beauty and importance of the site the Antiquities Authority will not allow it to be built upon and will recommend preserving the remains and incorporating them as an open archaeological garden in the new neighborhood to be built”. The residents of Allone Abba were invited by the Galilee Archaeological Center of the Antiquities Authority to visit the site and were provided with explanations about the unique finds. (September 20, 2006)

photos pending by SM