More on Flesher's award

PAUL FLESHER e-mails the following:

Several people have expressed interest in knowing more about the research project I will be conducting in my term as the Gitin Professor at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research. It has mistakenly been reported that my project encompasses the Huqoq mosaics. I wish to clarify that my research concerns not the Huqoq synagogue but the mosaics of other synagogues. To date there has been significant scholarly attention given to the zodiac cycles decorating the floors of ancient Galilean synagogues, but less attention to the other images. I intend to bring a ritual studies analysis to the floors of the synagogues at Sepphoris and Beth Alpha, looking especially at the images of the Temple/Torah Shrine, the lions, and sacrificial acts and implements. By combining information from the mosaics with interpretations found in the Palestinian Targums and the Palestinian rabbinic literature, where my expertise lies, I hope to reconstruct the sabbath liturgy and the meaning it was given in these sites.

Background here. I did not quote the full press release, relying on interested readers to follow the link. Apologies if this caused any confusion.