The Necropolis of Jerusalem in the Second Temple period / by Amos Kloner and Boaz Zissu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kloner, Amos.

Contributor:

Zissu, Boaz.

Louis A. Duhring Fund.

Series:

Interdisciplinary studies in ancient culture and religion ; 8.

Interdisciplinary studies in ancient culture and religion ; 8

Standardized Title:

ʻIr ha-ḳevarim shel Yerushalayim bi-yeme ha-Bayit ha-Sheni. English

Language:

English

Hebrew

Subjects (All):

Tombs--Jerusalem.

Tombs.

Cemeteries--Jerusalem.

Cemeteries.

Mausoleums--Jerusalem.

Mausoleums.

Excavations (Archaeology)--Jerusalem.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Jerusalem--Antiquities.

Jerusalem.

Jews--History--To 70 A.D.

Jews.

History.

Physical Description:

viii, 820 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Leuven ; Dudley, MA : Peeters, 2007.

Summary:

Burials from the Second Temple Period, that is, the Late Hellenistic (Hasmonean) and the Early Roman (Herodian) Periods, were revealed in all the areas surrounding Jerusalem, the central city of the period. The burial caves, mainly family tombs, were hewn in a necropolis completely surrounding the city and more than a dozen times its area. The consequences of this study have enabled the authors to map the burial fields that make up this necropolis, one of the most intensively studied in the archaeology of the Levant. Approximately 900 family tombs and 60 individual graves were hewn in a ring about 4 km around the city. An additional 100 burial caves were hewn within the present-day municipal area of Jerusalem, but are not discussed here because they lie outside this belt and probably belonged to neighboring villages of the period. Since the 19th century all the relevant findings from these burials were meticulously documented according to various catagories: architectural elements (the majority of which are carved in the rock), ossuaries and sarcophagi, pottery, glass vessels, stone vessels, coins, personal belongings, human bones and more. Inscriptions and names, generally inscribed on the sides of ossuaries, give a voice to these silent findings, and reveal the personalities of the Jews who lived in the city and participated in its design and history. This interdisciplinary approach, incorporating many branches of study, weaves a colorful picture that enable us to understand the burial customs of the period and sheds light on the city and its inhabitants. The authors collected, summarized and discuss this large body of information, the product of intensive field work by hundreds of archaeologists and other scholars, who excavated the tombs, collected the data, and documented the finds connected to the burials and burial customs of the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period.

Contents:

Part I The Extent and Characteristics of the Necropolis

1 Known Caves in the Necropolis from the Second Temple Period 11

2 The Rock of the Necropolis 12

2.1 Geological Formations and the Distribution of Caves 12

2.2 Quarries 15

2.3 The Process of Hewing Caves 19

3 Laws Pertaining to the Prohibition on Burial in Jerusalem and the Archaeological Record 20

4 Roads to the City and the Location of Tombs 24

5 The Aqueduct and Burial Caves 25

6 Distance of the Caves from the City 28

7 Spatial Distribution of the Necropolis 30

8 Organization of the Necropolis 31

9 The Landscape of the Necropolis: Features and Uses 33

Part II The Cave and Its Parts - The Burial Site

Chapter A The Entrance 41

10 The Courtyard of the Tomb 41

11 Ritual Baths-Miqva'ot 44

12 The Tomb Facade 45

13 The Vestibule 51

14 The Entrance to the Burial Cave 52

15 The Blocking Stone 53

15.1 Rectangular Stones 54

15.2 Round Stones 55

15.3 Buttressing Stones and Stones that Buttress the Buttressing Stone 56

15.4 Hinged Stone Doors 58

Chapter B The Internal Architecture of Burial Caves 61

16 Kokhim 61

16.1 Distribution 61

16.2 Types of Kokhim 61

16.2.1 Ordinary Kokhim 61

16.2.2 Broad and Double Kokhim 66

16.2.3 Two-Story Kokhim 67

16.2.4 Double-Length Kokh 67

16.2.5 Kokhim Arranged in Stories 67

17 Collection Kokhim 68

18 Shallow and Deep Collection Pits 69

19 Use of Ordinary Kokhim 69

20 Dating of the Kokhim 71

21 Kokh Caves in the Jewish Sources 72

22 The Term Kokh and the Archaeological Literature 75

23 Origin of the Kokh Method 76

24 Kokh Tombs in Contemporary Neighboring Cultures 79

24.1 Dura Europos 79

24.2 Palmyra 80

24.3 Nabataea 80

25 Arcosolia 81

25.1 Distribution 81

25.2 The Ordinary Arcosolium 81

26 Trough Tombs 86

27 Burial Shelves 87

28 Chambers without Fixed Burial Facilities 88

29 The Standing Pit 89

29.1 Description and Distribution 89

29.2 The Function of the Standing Pit 90

29.3 "Shallow Standing Pits" and Benches 91

30 Construction inside the Caves 92

Chapter C Field Burials and Dug Graves 95

31 Distribution and Description of Field Graves 95

32 Jewish Sources that Discuss Dug Graves 97

Part III How Burial was Done (Practices and Associated Objects)

33 Primary Burial 103

34 Secondary Burial: Removal of Bones 106

35 Secondary Burial: Bone Collection (Ossilegium) 107

36 Care of the Bones during Collection 110

37 Collection by Individuals and Collection Societies 111

38 The Number of Ossuaries and their Geographical Distribution in the Necropolis 112

39 Portable Coffins (Sarcophagi) 114

40 The Custom of Using Ossuaries 116

41 The Period in which Ossuaries Were Used 119

42 The People Buried in Jerusalem 121

43 Objects Found in Burial Caves 123

Part IV Burial in Jerusalem in the Early Second Temple Period and After the Destruction

44 Burial of Jews in Jerusalem in the Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods 139

44.1 Distribution and Analysis of Findings 139

45 Burial of Jews in Jerusalem after the Destruction 141

45.1 The Jewish Population of Jerusalem after the Destruction 141

45.2 Jewish and Non-Jewish Burials after 70 CE 143

45.3 Caves Used by Jews after 70 CE 144

Part V Catalogue of the Tombs Arranged According to Zones

Zone 1 151

Zone 2 177

Zone 3 197

Zone 4 220

Zone 5 231

Zone 6 241

Zone 7 252

Zone 8 284

Zone 9 286

Zone 10 294

Zone 11 316

Zone 12 334

Zone 13 345

Zone 14 356

Zone 16 365

Zone 18 369

Zone 19 371

Zone 20 376

Zone 21 378

Zone 22 387

Zone 23 389

Zone 24 399

Zone 25 407

Zone 26 425

Zone 27 431

Zone 28 436

Zone 29 446

Zone 30 460

Zone 31 and 0 462.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Louis A. Duhring Fund.

ISBN:

904291792X

9789042917927

OCLC:

67346273