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Yaquq

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Template:Infobox former Arab villages in Palestine

Huqoq, Horbat Huqoq, Yaquq (Template:Lang-ar is an ancient village in the Galilee notable for its elaborate ancient synagogue. Archaeological investigations suggest that it was occupied in Hellenistic, Early Roman, Abbasid, Fatimid, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 1, 1948. It is located near the Sea of Galilee, 12.5 km north of Tiberias, uphill from Capernaum and Magdala.[1]

The village, which had been described in archaeological surveys but not previously excavated, was uncovered in a 2011 dig led by archaeologist Jodi Magness.[2]

History

The Canaanites referred to Yaquq as Hukkok, and during the Roman period it was known as Hucuca.[3][4]

The Roman period village was large and prosperous due to the presence of a constant spring.[5] Archaeologist Magness told Science News that the "high artistic quality and the tiny size of the mosaic cubes,... together with the monumental size of the stones used to construct the synagogue’s walls, suggest a high level of prosperity in this village, as the building clearly was very costly.”[6] The prosperity of the ancient village contrasts with the simplicity of the Ottoman era settlement and can be seen by archaeologists in animal bones which were cut by professional butchers in the ancient Jewish village, and by farmers in the Muslim period.[7] It is apparent from both the synagogue and the absence of pork bones that the Roman period village was Jewish.[8]

"The ancient village is surrounded by associated features, including cist graves, rock-cut tombs, a mausoleum, quarries, agricultural terraces and installations, a winepress and an olive press. Two large miqwa’ot (ritual baths) are hewn into bedrock on the eastern and southern periphery of the ancient village (see below)."[9]

The village is attested in Late Roman and Byzantine period rabbinic sources.[10]

In 1596, Yaquq was a part of the Ottoman nahiya ("subdistrict") of Jira under the liwa' ("district") of Safad, with a population of 396. It paid taxes on a number of crops and produce, including wheat, barley and olives, goats, beehives, and a press which was either used for processing grapes or olives.[11]

In 1875, the village was described as having about 20 stone houses, with about 200 inhabitants.[12]

In 1945 it had a population of 210.[13][4] In 1944/45 the village had 1,010 dunams of land used for cereals, and 24 dunams irrigated or used for orchards.[14][15]

Khalidi described the place in 1992:

Stone rubble covers the entire site. There is one palm tree in the center and an olive grove on the edge. Part of the surrounding land is cultivated by Israelis, while the remainder is used as a grazing area. A canal that passes to the west is part of the Israeli National Water Carrier, the water project that carries water from Lake Tiberias to the central coastal plains.[15]

Ancient synagogue

An ancient synagogue uncovered in 2011 is notable for its fine limestone carvings and for an mosaic of the Biblical hero Samson. According to archaeologist Jodi Magness, "This discovery is significant because only a small number of ancient (Late Roman) synagogue buildings are decorated with mosaics showing biblical scenes, and only two others have scenes with Samson (one is at another site just a couple of miles from Huqoq)" Furthermore, "Our mosaics are also important because of their high artistic quality and the tiny size of the mosaic cubes. This, together with the monumental size of the stones used to construct the synagogue's walls, suggest a high level of prosperity in this village, as the building clearly was very costly."[16]

In the mosaic the Biblical Samson is portrayed tying burning torches to the tails of foxes, this is from a Bible story in the Book of Judges in which during a war with the Philistines Samson catches 300 wild foxes, ties burning torches to their tails and sets them loose to set fire to Philistine grain fields. It is flanked by two human faces and a Hebrew inscription referring to rewards for those who perform good deeds. [17][18]

References

  1. ^ Paul V. M. Flesher, "Kitchens on the Cutting Edge", June 28, 2012, University of Wyoming News, http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2012/06/uw-religion-today-column-for-week-of-july-1-july-7-kitchens-on-the-cutting-edge.html
  2. ^ Jodi Magness, "Huqoq – 2011, Preliminary Report", March 29, 2011, Hadashot Arkheologiyot, http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?id=1959&mag_id=119
  3. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP, Vol. I, p.420
  4. ^ a b Khalidi, 1992, p.546
  5. ^ Jodi Magness, "Huqoq – 2011, Preliminary Report", March 29, 2011, Hadashot Arkheologiyot, http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?id=1959&mag_id=119
  6. ^ Remains of Roman Period Synagogue Discovered in Galilee, July 2, 2012, Science News http://www.sci-news.com/archaeology/article00436.html
  7. ^ Paul V. M. Flesher, "Kitchens on the Cutting Edge", June 28, 2012, University of Wyoming News, http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2012/06/uw-religion-today-column-for-week-of-july-1-july-7-kitchens-on-the-cutting-edge.html
  8. ^ Paul V. M. Flesher, "Kitchens on the Cutting Edge", June 28, 2012, University of Wyoming News, http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2012/06/uw-religion-today-column-for-week-of-july-1-july-7-kitchens-on-the-cutting-edge.html
  9. ^ Jodi Magness, "Huqoq – 2011, Preliminary Report", March 29, 2011, Hadashot Arkheologiyot, http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?id=1959&mag_id=119
  10. ^ Jodi Magness, "Huqoq – 2011, Preliminary Report", March 29, 2011, Hadashot Arkheologiyot, http://www.hadashot-esi.org.il/report_detail_eng.asp?id=1959&mag_id=119
  11. ^ Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter and Kamal Abdulfattah (1977), Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. p. 177. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 546
  12. ^ Conder and Kitchener, 1881, SWP, Vol. I, p.364. Quoted in Khalidi, 1992, p. 547
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hadawi73 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Hadawi, 1970, p.123
  15. ^ a b Khalidi, 1992, p.547
  16. ^ Israel Antiquities Authority, http://www.antiquities.org.il/about_eng.asp?Modul_id=14
  17. ^ Gwen Ackerman, Businessweek,"Biblical Samson Torches Fox Tails in Ancient Synagogue Mosaic" ,July 02, 2012, http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-02/biblical-samson-torches-fox-tails-in-ancient-synagogue-mosaic
  18. ^ Matti Friedman, "Ancient synagogue and mosaic unearthed in Galilee", Times of Israel, July 2, 2012 http://www.timesofisrael.com/ancient-synagogue-and-mosaic-unearthed-in-galilee/

Bibliography

  • Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener (1881): The Survey of Western Palestine: memoirs of the topography, orography, hydrography, and archaeology. London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. vol 1
  • Hadawi, Sami (1970), Village Statistics of 1945: A Classification of Land and Area ownership in Palestine, Palestine Liberation Organization Research Center
  • Khalidi, Walid (1992), All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, ISBN 0-88728-224-5
  • Morris, Benny (2004), The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem Revisited, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-00967-6

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