The Peqi’in Burial Cave
The Peqi’in burial cave was discovered in 1995 in the hills of Upper Galilee, Israel, when a road was being built, a bulldozer collapsed the roof of the cave at Peqi’in. In the summer of 1995, Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) conducted salvage excavation . This Chalcolithic burial site revealed a geologically active cave.
Stratigraphy
The length of the cave was 17 metres, and width of 5-7 metres . It “consists of three units situated on three levels, sloping down from east to west” . A passageway runs from the entrance to the upper section, and the eastern side, was blocked by debris and impenetrable” . Furthermore, there was a road above the cave which archaeologists were unable to excavate due to safety concerns. …show more content…
Ossuaries were used for burial purposes, and were believed to contain the remains of the elite. There were “dozens of ossuaries” all made from clay, which varied in shape, size and style . Some were found with “facades or lids” . Several ossuaries had “human facial features and two or three dimensional sculpted human heads” . Another type of ossuary had an “opening on the rear or front sides” for putting the bones in; a door was fastened on to the opening by inserting sticks "through parallel handles attached to the door of the box" . This type of ossuaries had “anthropomorphic features such as a prominent sculpted nose and eyes, either sculpted or painted” . A few of the ossuaries had an “open rectangular box with large horizontal handles or a series of pierced holes along the edges” . They were possibly attached with some type of "organic material" . Other features on the ossuaries, displayed both male and female pictures, either painted or sculpted . On further studies of the ossuaries, a petrographic test was carried out and confirmed that they, were made locally .
Secondary burial jars, usually had "sculpted rope decorations and red-slip, or painted in geometric design". The jars were also moulded with female breasts and facial features"