Changes in Burial Practices in Jerusalem at the End of the Second Temple Period

A Morphological Analysis of the Loculi Tombs

Abstract

The late Second Temple period was a time when Jews had to confront different cultures, especially Hellenism. Understanding the changes in their burial practices during this period will help to clarify their relationship with different cultures.

The origin of loculi tombs, a type of tomb which appeared during the second century BC, has been debated by various researchers, and in recent years the mainstream theory has been that although they originated in the surrounding area, they also inherited traditional elements from Iron Age II Israel. However, these studies are not quantitative, and research on the tombs’ internal structures that are taken to be ethnic markers is scarce. Therefore, in this paper, I clarify the changes in the internal form of the loculi tombs in Jerusalem in order to elucidate some aspects of the way Jews buried their dead in the face of different cultures.

The analysis reveals that most of the loculi tombs from the second to first centuries BCE have features in common with the earlier bench tombs, such as burial chambers with pits, especially U-shaped burial chambers, and collections of bones, indicating that it is likely that familial burial practices continued. On the other hand, in the first century CE, pit structures declined and flat types became the majority, with a slight increase in auxiliary structures. These trends may be related to the increased use of ossuaries. It is also clear that the form of the loculi had remained constant until the second century BCE, but then was changed to make it suitable for Jewish reburial. These results suggest that while the Jews were confronted with different cultures, there was little influence on burial, but rather that they developed their own burial system, incorporating the loculi structure into their reburials.