Abstract
The cave has a square burial chamber with three arcosolia hewn in its walls; two burial troughs were hewn in each arcosolium. Inside the troughs were the remains of 51 individuals, mostly children. The finds included 63 clay lamps and 18 glass vessels, mostly intact, dating the first use of the cave to the third century CE and its last use to the seventh century CE. Jewelry, spatulas and chicken eggs were found as well. The chicken eggs probably symbolize the Christian belief in incarnation, and thus may attest to the burial of martyrs, who were possibly massacred by the Persians in 614 CE.
Keywords
cemetery, Christians, glass, lamp typology, metal
Recommended Citation
Kogan-Zehavi, Elena
(2006)
"A Burial Cave of the Byzantine Period in the Naḥalat Ahim Quarter, Jerusalem (Hebrew, pp. 61*–86*; English summary, pp. 160–161),"
'Atiqot: Vol. 54, Article 13.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.70967/2948-040X.1333
Available at:
https://publications.iaa.org.il/atiqot/vol54/iss1/13
Included in
Agriculture Commons, Biblical Studies Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons