Ancient Mosaics Depicting Biblical Deborah, Yael Found in Northern Israel

Ancient mosaics thought to be some 1,600 years old have been discovered at the site of a former synagogue in the Lower Galilee region of northern Israel. The mosaics in the town of Huqoq are the earliest known depictions of the biblical heroines Deborah and Yael, whose story of defeating the Canaanite commander Sisera is recounted in the Book of Judges. The discovery was announced on Tuesday by biblical archeologist Jodi Magness, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, who has been excavating the site for the last decade with a team of archaeologists as well as college students. It is not known what condition the mosaics are in; they reportedly have been removed for conservation. The excavations have been dormant for the last three years due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other mosaics that have been uncovered at the fifth-century synagogue have illustrated Noah’s Ark, the splitting of the Red Sea during the Exodus from Egypt, Jonah and the fish, and the Prophet Daniel’s vision of the four beasts.