Archaeological dig in Galilee uncovers Late Roman mosaics of Samson

Michie · Aug 1, 2023

A team of specialists led by Professor Jodi Magness has uncovered a unique mosaic panel in the late Roman (ca. 400 A.D.) synagogue of Huqoq.

A team of specialists led by Professor Jodi Magness, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has uncovered a unique mosaic panel in the late Roman (ca. 400 A.D.) synagogue of Huqoq – an ancient Jewish village in Israel’s Lower Galilee.

According to the note published by Phys.org, Magness and Assistant Director Dennis Mizzi of the University of Malta focused on the south end of the synagogue’s main nave and discovered a large mosaic panel, “in the center of which is an enigmatic Hebrew inscription framed within a wreath. To the sides and below the wreath, an Aramaic inscription lists the names either of the donors who provided funding for the synagogue’s mosaics or the artists who made them, asking that they be remembered for good. The wreath is flanked on either side by lions resting their forepaws on bulls’ heads. The entire panel is surrounded by a decorated border showing animals of prey pursuing other animals.”

Additionally, the excavation exposed more sections of a series of panels that had already been discovered in 2012 and 2013, all dedicated to the story of Samson as read in the book of Judges. These newly discovered panels show the episodes of Samson and the foxes as mentioned in Judges 15:4 and Samson carrying the gate of Gaza on his shoulders referenced in Judges 16:3.

Samson in the Bible

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