Burial customs in the land of Bible from the chalcolithic period to the herodian period (4300 B.C.E.-70 A.D.). General view

ill. ; 29 cm

In this paper we describe briefly the burial customs in the land of the Bible from the Chalcolithic period to the Herodian period (4300 B.C.E. - 70 A.D.), confronting archeological evidence with biblical data. On the basis of archeological and biblical data we can deduce the most important and common beliefs concerning the death and afterlife of population in this period. Through the ages we encounter here a number of burial customs. We show only the main funerary customs concerning the type of tombs, burial offerings or inscriptions. We show that the beliefs of the populations that inhabited the land of the Bible concerning the afterlife are strictly connected with the burial offerings. In each part of the paper we give some examples of actual cemetery, tombs or burial places of each historical period. Describing briefly the results of the excavations in the most important burial places we also show the characteristic features of each of these places. Sometimes it is helpful to recall the biblical quotations

il. ; 29 cm