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Abstract

The tomb, constructed from large, roughly dressed basalt stones, consisted of a courtyard, a burial chamber surrounded by two stories of loculi (kokhim) and a large subterranean chamber. Part of a basalt-stone door, which originally sealed the tomb opening, was found; it was carved in imitation of a paneled wooden door, and originally swung on hinges, one of which survived in situ. The finds within the tomb included pottery and glass vessels, an iron nail and a limestone ossuary, mostly dating to the end of the first–early second centuries CE; a magical amulet, representing a reaper and incised with a Greek inscription, was found in a heap of debris near the tomb. The kokhim and the ossuary point to the Jewish character of the interred, although the overall plan is not typical of Jewish tombs.

Keywords

Galilee, cemetery, burial, glyptics, ethnography

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