Sherman, Texas -- The Huqoq Excavation Consortium will benefit from a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of State to the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research.
Huqoq is an ancient Jewish village three miles west of the Sea of Galilee. Previous excavations by teams, some of which included Austin College students and faculty, revealed the remains of several houses in the village dating to the late 4th and early 5th centuries CE, as well as those of a contemporary monumental synagogue.
Professor of Classics and Chair of the Classics Department Dr. Martin Wells is the architectural specialist for the project.
“As the archaeologists, our role in the grant will be to advise the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who will be the ones doing any further excavation, on where and what to excavate,” said Wells about the grant. “I, as the architectural specialist, have a further role in advising the IAA and the Parks Authority on any digital or printed reconstructions of the synagogue.”
The synagogue’s mosaic floor was largely preserved, illustrated with biblical scenes and the first non-biblical scene ever discovered in an ancient synagogue. Architectural elements of the synagogue’s superstructure were also found—column drums and capitals, for example—some even preserving the ancient painted plaster. National Geographic named the mosaics among its list of “100 Archaeological Treasures of the Past,” and the finds have been featured in national and international media.
“In 2014, I was asked by Jodi Magness, director of the excavation and a professor at UNC Chapel Hill, to be the architectural specialist for the project,” said Wells regarding his involvement with the Consortium. “For this project, my job has been and still is to study the architecture of the synagogue, its plan, the methods and materials of its construction, and to present these findings as well as reconstructions of the synagogue in the final publications of the excavation.”
“I started bringing students in 2018. From then until 2023, eight Austin College students joined dozens of other students from Chapel Hill, BYU, and elsewhere at Huqoq,” said Wells. “The students came with no experience and learned how to dig, what to look for in the soil, how to handle artifacts when they found them, and how to document and record the excavation and the results.”
The grant represents a major investment in shared cultural heritage, public diplomacy, and the preservation of archaeological and archival resources central to the history of the United States in the region.
“I’d like to acknowledge and thank Austin College for its support of the project. The College has been a member of the Consortium since 2019,” said Wells. “It was very rewarding to see the students learn how to use the tools and understand the process of archaeology and to see their excitement on finding a coin or an intact ceramic lamp or a synagogue mosaic that was 1500 years old.
Founded in 1900, the Albright Institute is the oldest U.S. research center in the Middle East. The institute hosts fellows from across the United States and around the world, fostering international collaboration, scholarly excellence, and public engagement.
Austin College, a private national liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas, has earned a reputation for excellence in academic preparation, pre-professional foundations, committed faculty, and hands-on, adventurous learning opportunities. One of 45 schools profiled in Loren Pope’s influential book Colleges That Change Lives, Austin College boasts a welcoming community that embraces diversity and individuality, with more than 50 percent of students identifying as persons of color. The residential student body of approximately 1,300 students and an expert faculty of more than 100 educators allow an 11:1 student-faculty ratio and personalized attention. Related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA), Austin College cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that supports students’ faith journeys regardless of religious tradition. The College, founded in 1849, is the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original name and charter.
