Unearthed: Ancient synagogue mosaic yields nonbiblical images

c. 2014 Religion News Service

JERUSALEM (RNS) An ancient synagogue mosaic depicting nonbiblical themes—including elephants—has been removed for safekeeping, according to the lead archaeologist who discovered the three-part floor panel earlier this summer.

Jodi Magness, director of the excavations in the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq in the Lower Galilee, said the high-quality, 1,600-year-old mosaic panel, which depicts an array of nonbiblical themes, “has been removed for conservation” until the synagogue is fully excavated in several years’ time.