Texas archaeologists behind discovery of mystery mosaic in Israel
Updated 4:18 pm, Monday, July 14, 2014
A unique mosaic dating back to the fifth century has been uncovered in an ancient Israeli synagogue by a team of archaeologists, including some from Texas.
The 1,500-year-old mosaic is thought to show Alexander the Great meeting with the High Priests. If that is correct it would be the first Jewish mosaic ever discovered in the region that depicts a non-biblical scene and researchers say it could give new insight into the beliefs and customs of people living at the time.
"It's so unique because it doesn't match any specific biblical study," said Chad Spigel, assisstant professor of religion at Trinity University in San Antonio, "It tells us about aspects of ancient Judasim that we hadn't previously considered." Spigel said.
The mosaic is said to show a bull piereced by spears, with blood gushing from his wounds, and a dying or dead soldier. Another panel depicts an arcade, with the arches framing young men arranged around a seated elderly man holding a scroll.
However, it is the final panel that has yielded the most clues about what the images represent, largely because of the appearance of the world's largest land animal, the elephant.
According to a news release from the project, the uppermost register depicts a meeting between two large male figures.
A bearded, diademed soldier wearing elaborate battle dress and a purple cloak is leading a large bull by the horns, accompanied by a phalanx of soldiers and elephants with shields tied to their sides. He is meeting with a grey-haired, bearded elderly man.
Reserachers say the elephants link the image to events dating back to around 350 B.C.
"Battle elephants were associated with Greek armies beginning with Alexander the Great, so this might be a depiction of a Jewish legend about the meeting between Alexander and the Jewish high priest," suggested Project leader Jodi Magness. Alexander the Great ruled from 365-323 B.C
Teams from Trinity along with the University of North Carolina, the University of Toronto, Brigham Young University in Utah and the University of Wyoming are now studying the mosaic to try and confirm their theory.
This mosaic is one of three uncovered as part of excavations of a late Roman synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish villace in Israel's lower Galilee.
The previous two are thought to show images of the old testament stories of Samson, discoveries championed by religious historians excited to know more about what ancient communities were celebrating.
"(The mosaics) help us better understand some of the idealogies of biblical communities, some of the stories they were passing down that they thought were religious," said Spigel from Trinity, "We have to avoid thinking that historical biblical groups have the same believes as we do now. Perhaps Alexander the Great would have been important to his particular community, then we have to figure out why," Spigel said.