1,600-Year-Old Samson Mosaic Goes on Public Display in Galilee

Hukok, near the Sea of Galilee, was a Jewish community during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

By Eitan Elhadez-Barak, TPS

A 1,600-year-old mosaic depicting the biblical hero Samson went on public display Sunday for the first time after more than a decade of archaeological excavations at Hukok in the Lower Galilee.

The mosaic, uncovered in the remains of an ancient synagogue used by a Jewish community during the Talmudic period, dates to the fourth or fifth century.

It depicts scenes from the biblical Book of Judges, including Samson carrying the gates of Gaza and tying torches to the tails of foxes.

Hukok, near the Sea of Galilee, was a Jewish community during the Roman and Byzantine periods.

The mosaic is part of the “Secrets of Law” exhibition at Beit Yigal Alon in Kibbutz Ginosar in the Galilee.

The exhibition also features photographs of other mosaics discovered at the synagogue, as well as remains of an underground hiding-place system discovered at the site.

The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, an Israeli organization involved in environmental conservation, land reclamation, forestry and development.