![\"Fish](\"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Mosaic-1.jpg\")
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For 1,500 years, elaborate mosaics depicting Bible stories like Noah\u2019s Ark and the parting of the Red Sea were buried in the ruins of an ancient synagogue in Israel<\/a>. But this summer, a team that included two Baylor students and\u00a0Dr. Nathan Elkins<\/a>, a Baylor art history professor and coin specialist, uncovered this stunning artwork while excavating the synagogue that housed it.<\/p>\n The synagogue, located in Huqoq, Israel, dates back to the 5th\u00a0century, and the artwork excavators found inside was incredibly rare; similar examples have been found at only four other Middle Eastern synagogues. The art covers the floor and contains detailed images of Noah\u2019s Ark, featuring bears (Sic ’em!), elephants, leopards, donkeys, snakes, lions, ostriches, camels, sheep and goats. Other mosaics tell the story of the parting of the Red Sea (with\u00a0images like the one above of Egyptian soldiers being swallowed by large fish).<\/p>\n Along with Dr. Elkins, Baylor students Sara Beth Burch, a sophomore art history major, and Nathaniel Eberlein, a senior University Scholar, took part in the excavation. Elkins provided the group with expertise in ancient coins, some of which were found at the site. The coins covered a span of 2,300 years and helped the team better understand the synagogue and the village it called home.<\/p>\n