Archaeology

At an excavation site in northern Mexico, BYU archaeology students and professors recently discovered artifacts that have been buried for 1,000 years, including pottery sherds, hammer stones, maize kernels and — intriguing at a location 250 miles inland — a shell bead from the Pacific Ocean.

Almost every summer since 2011, BYU faculty and students have joined a consortium of universities led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to excavate the synagogue in the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee. This year’s work on the building’s beautiful mosaic floor, which dates from the late fourth – early fifth century C.E., yielded a unique discovery: fragments showing Jael and the prophetess Deborah.

A group of BYU archaeologists spent their summer at the ancient Jewish village of Huqoq near the Sea of Galilee in Israel, uncovering an ancient synagogue mosaic with rare biblical depiction

Seeing Petra in person is unforgettable, but this visually-stunning look is as close as you'll get to the real thing. See how students and their professor are saving a piece of the park.