Huqoq: A Historical and Archaeological Overview
Huqoq is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a settlement within the territory of the Tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 19:32–34). It also appears in rabbinic literature as a Jewish village during the period of the Mishnah and Talmud, renowned for its mustard cultivation, which formed an important part of the local economy. During the Byzantine period, the Church Father Eusebius of Caesarea was the first to identify the village with the biblical Huqoq.
Archaeological evidence now indicates that the site was occupied almost continuously from the Iron Age (the First Temple period) through the modern era. The settlement reached its greatest prosperity during the Roman and Byzantine periods, when it occupied more than 30 dunams (approximately 7.5 acres) at the summit of the hill.
Agricultural installations and burial caves associated with the village have been identified along its margins and on the southern slopes of a nearby hill to the north. A perennial spring in the valley north of the site, which continues to flow today, served as the settlement's principal water source. Crowning the hill are the remains of the Arab village of Yaquq, which occupied an area of approximately 10 dunams (2.5 acres).
The first modern archaeological investigations at Huqoq took place in 1956–1957, when, in advance of construction of Israel's National Water Carrier, B. Rabani, assisted by members of Kibbutz Huqoq, excavated four Roman-period burial caves (dating from the first through third centuries CE). The caves yielded rich assemblages of archaeological finds.
In 2011, ahead of the widening of Highway 65, Dalali-Amos conducted excavations on exposed bedrock along the site's western and northwestern margins, south of the junction between the National Water Carrier and Highway 65. These excavations uncovered tombs, quarries, and rock-cut installations—possibly including a ritual bath (mikveh)—dating to several periods, among them the Roman and Byzantine eras.