Exquisite mosaics depicting biblical scenes — one of Noah’s Ark, the other the parting of the Red Sea — were uncovered this summer by archaeologists excavating a fifth-century synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village near the Sea of Galilee.

这个夏天考古学家在在加利利海旁边的犹太人村庄--户割的一个5世纪会堂里发掘了两种精美的马赛克装饰:一种是挪亚方舟，一种是红海分开的地方。

A consortium of universities, led by Jodi Magness of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, uncovered the mosaics during its fifth annual excavation in June.

在北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校的乔蒂·麦尼斯带领下，大学联盟在第五年的六月份挖掘发现了这些马赛克装饰。

Magness said the mosaics, like others discovered at the synagogue since 2012, are of “extremely high artistic quality,” based on their artistry and the high number of stone mosaic cubes used in the designs.

麦尼斯说，这些马赛克装饰同其他自2012年开始在会堂里发现的那些一样，都有“极高的艺术造诣”，因其精湛技艺并设计中所用的马赛克立方体石头的高额数量。

The Noah’s Ark mosaic includes pairs of bears, donkeys, leopards, camels, lions, ostriches and snakes, just as described in the Book of Genesis.

挪亚方舟的马赛克装饰里有成对的熊，驴，豹，骆驼，狮子，鸵鸟和蛇，正如《圣经》中的《创世记》里所描述的。

                                      （注：图片来自网络） 

The mosaic of the parting of the Red Sea features Pharaoh’s soldiers drowning with their horses and chariots. 

红海分裂马赛克则描绘了被淹没的法老的士兵，及他们的车和马。 

“Of course the story of Noah’s Ark and the parting of the Red Sea were known to Jews, as well as Christians, at the time because they read the Hebrew Bible,” Magness said. “We have other ancient synagogues where these scenes are depicted, though they are not common in synagogue art.”     

“那时的犹太人和基督徒都知道挪亚方舟和分开红海的故事，因为他们都读希伯来圣经，” 麦尼斯说，“我们还发现别的古会堂也有这些画，虽然这在会堂艺术中不算普遍。”

The archaeologist said excavation experts dug down to a level of soil where, based on findings elsewhere at the site, they hoped mosaics might be found. 

考古学家说，挖掘专家根据他们所期待的有可能会有马赛克装饰的地方，将土壤挖掘到一定的深度。

“As our site conservator, Orna Cohen, worked methodically to brush away the dirt, little by little, we all stood around and began to see animals. At some point we realized this was a depiction of Noah’s Ark.” 

“当我们的现场管理员Orna Cohen有条不紊的一点点清除掉灰尘后，我们看到了上面的动物，我们就觉得应该是挪亚方舟的图画。”

Deciphering the second mosaic was harder, Magness said.

破译第二个马赛克装饰则要困难很多了，麦尼斯说。

“We could see little bits and pieces of people, fish, chariots. We all stood around and guessed”whether the mosaic depicted a biblical story and if so, which one.

“我们可以看见人，鱼和马车的一些小点和小块儿。我们所有的人都围着站在一起猜测着”，这个马赛克装饰是否描述了圣经故事，如果是的话，又是哪个故事。

“I won the parting of the Red Sea” guess-a-thon, she said with a laugh.

她笑着说，在这次猜谜中“我猜对了分开红海”。

                                  （注：图片来自网络）

But the Red Sea mosaic features a twist on the biblical story: a large fish swallowing Pharaoh’s soldiers.

但是分开红海的马赛克装饰描述的是大鱼吞掉法老士兵，这和圣经上的有些出入。

 “This represents an elaboration on the story that must have been circulating at the time,” she said.

她说：“这个说明了那个故事在当时一定是被传来传去的。”

The mosaics have been removed from the site for conservation and study.

为了保存和研究，这些马赛克装饰都被从发现的地方做了转移。

But a previously discovered mosaic from the site that depicts Samson carrying the gate of Gaza on his shoulders (Judges 16:3) is on display at Kibbutz Ginosar, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

但是之前发现的扛在参孙肩膀上的加沙之门（士师记16：3）马赛克装饰，被放在加利利海岸的Kibbutz Ginosar展览。

Magness would love to see the mosaics eventually restored to the Huqoq synagogue.

麦尼斯则希望可以看到这些马赛克装饰最终被放回到户割的会堂。

Michele Chabin

ReligionNews Service

翻译：Ruth Wei