The new artifact and photographic exhibition housed at the Yigal Allon Center, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and overlooking the Horvat Huqoq site in the lovely Amiad Forest, acts as a preliminary visitor center while direct site access is in preparation. The centerpiece: the original Samson floor mosaic, alongside a bronze coin cache’s premier public display.
Yigal Allon Center Museum. Photo: Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority
“Secrets of Huqoq” – a new exhibition mounted at the Yigal Allon Center Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar, offers the public its first glimpse into one of the most intriguing and spectacular archaeological sites uncovered in Israel in recent years. The exhibition – a joint initiative of the Jewish National Fund (KKL), the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research, supported by the U.S. government, and the Israel Antiquities Authority, invites the public to discover the ruins of Huqoq – a flourishing ancient Jewish village reaching its zenith in the Roman-Byzantine period, set in the heart of the Amiad Forest, in an open space near the Huqoq Spring.
Horvat Huqoq, visible from the museum’s windows, is best known for the impressive ancient synagogue uncovered by the Huqoq expedition excavations, led by Professor Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Extraordinary in their beauty and narrative richness, including rare biblical and extra-biblical scenes, the range of the Huqoq mosaics are unequalled by any other synagogue in Israel.
At the center of the new exhibition is the original Samson Mosaic – the only one of the mosaics currently on public display. Showing Samson carrying the gates of the city of Gaza on his shoulders, alongside it are spectacular photographs of the other floor mosaics from the site, courtesy of their excavator, Professor Magness.
According to Professor Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: “The Huqoq mosaics are some of the most exciting and moving finds I have ever been privileged to unearth. I am delighted that the original Samson mosaic, alongside images of the site’s many other mosaics, are being displayed to the public so close to where they were found. For me, they are still part of an ongoing research effort, and therefore this exhibition invites the public to join the journey of discovery as it unfolds.”
Preparing the model of the Huqoq settlement by Igor Solodov. Photo: Einat Ambar-Armon, Israel Antiquities Authority
The exhibition seeks to broaden the perspective beyond the mosaics themselves by presenting Huqoq as an encompassing living environment: a village, a community, a spring, agricultural installations, ritual baths—mikvehs, a hidden underground escape network, and the open landscape around them. Through archaeological finds, photographs, a small-scale model of the settlement, and an experiential space simulating part of its underground world, visitors enter the story of a town whose discoveries are still coming to light.
Alongside the exquisitely detailed mosaic, the exhibition also publicly features, for the very first time, a hoard of bronze coins. Israel Antiquities Authority excavations discovered them within a hidden escape system that is contemporary with the synagogue. This hoard joins other finds revealed within this system, including a ring and a dagger, and sheds light on another aspect of Jewish community life here during times of hardship, and secrecy under the life-and-death threat for being faithful to tradition and identity.
In recent years, Huqoq has also become the focus of broad educational and community programs led by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s northern region education division, in full collaboration with the KKL-JNF. Students, families, soldiers, volunteers, and area residents participated in excavations, sifting, and field activities, all becoming part of the site’s discovery process and thus fostering the renewed connection to its story.
According to Dr. Einat Ambar-Armon, Israel Antiquities Authority Exhibition Curator: “Huqoq is a small site telling a big story: about a living Jewish Galilee community in the Roman-Byzantine period, about an extraordinary artistic creation, and about an entire region whose life revolved around the synagogue. Since preparing the site itself for public visitation is expected to take several more years, our exhibition already serves as a first gateway to the village of Huqoq and to the archaeological and human story it reveals, located near and within sight of the real place.
The exhibition opening is part of the museum broadening its scope: the second floor is now defined as the archaeology floor, entitled ‘When Galilee was the Center.’ Alongside the adjacent ‘Sanhedrin Trail’ exhibition, ‘Secrets of Huqoq’ enables the visitor to see the town’s heritage within the lens of a broader picture – the Galilee as a space of Jewish life, creativity, community and study during the Roman-Byzantine period, as the Mishna and Jerusalem Talmud developed here in this region.”
According to KKL-JNF Chairman Eyal Ostrinsky, “The ‘Secrets of Huqoq’ exhibition is an invitation to embark upon a fascinating journey to one of the most impressive archaeological sites ever discovered in Israel. Preserving heritage and making it publicly accessible is an integral part of KKL-JNF's mission to connect people, the land, and its history. Along with preserving the landscape and open spaces, we work to ensure that the cultural and historical treasures of the Land of Israel will continue to tell the story of the Jewish people for generations to come.”
According to Eli Escusido, Director General of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “Huqoq is one of the most important and intriguing sites uncovered in the Galilee in recent years. It opens a rare window into the region's past during the Roman-Byzantine period. The exhibition at the Yigal Allon Center creates an opportunity to bring to the general public the story of a site that is still undergoing research, preservation, and development. This is an expression of the role of the Israel Antiquities Authority: not only to uncover findings, but to make the past accessible and meaningful for the entire public.”
According to Israeli Minister of Heritage Rabbi Amichai Eliyahu, “The spectacular Huqoq finds and mosaics are the living voice of a Jewish community that dwelt here in the Galilee some 1,600 years ago, gathered in their synagogue, read, told and taught the stories of the Bible uniquely reinforced by the images around them, and left behind for us a profound testimony to Jewish identity, faith, and roots in the Land of Israel. The ‘Secrets of Huqoq’ exhibition connects the public to this continuum – from this ancient Galilee village to the present-day State of Israel – and expresses our commitment to preserving, researching, and making accessible the heritage of the Jewish people in their land for all to see.”
According to Dr. James Fraser, Dorot Director of the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research: “The opening of the Yigal Allon Center exhibition, alongside the start of conservation and documentation work at the Huqoq site itself, and, the development of a new website dedicated to the site's findings, mark an important stage in a multifaceted process to reveal the rich Huqoq story to the public. We are proud to be key partners in this rewarding enterprise, made possible in part thanks to the support of the United States Embassy in Israel and the United States Department of State. This vital assistance expresses international cooperation in the research, preservation, and accessibility of cultural heritage – at a symbolic time when the United States is celebrating 250 years of its own independence.”
According to Dani Zamir, Yigal Allon Center CEO, and Oshrat Siso, Museum Director, “‘Secrets of Huqoq’ connects heritage, a museum experience and the Galilee landscape, and plays a part in a broader process of renewing our museum and deepening its place as a gateway to the Galilee story. The fact that the site itself is visible from the museum windows transforms the visit here into an invitation to see Huqoq not only as a find from the past, but as part of the living story of the Galilee.”
Opening Hours: Sunday–Thursday, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Banner: Samson carrying the gates of Gaza on his shoulders. The original mosaic from Huqoq is on display in the exhibition at the Yigal Allon Center. Photo: Einat Ambar-Armon, Israel Antiquities Authority