The Oriental Institute at The University of Chicago is now home to artifacts from the charnel house #A 44 & shaft tomb #A 72NW.
The irregularly shaped shaft had a tendency to squared corners was cut into the natural huwwar deposit. The blocking stone of A 72NW was a thick slab, which barely covered the large entry. Gaps in the entry were filled with a pebbly plaster. The chamber was an irregular shape, unlike the other chambers associated with shaft A 72. Rather than rounded corners, there are sharp angles along the left side (Shaub and Rast 1989: 132-149). The human remains consisted of disarticulated bone pile in the center-left of the chamber; many of the bones were very fragmentary. Larger vessels were located closer to the human remains, with smaller vessels around the edges of the chamber along the walls. Many of the vessels were in clusters.
The walls of charnel house A 44 were preserved five or six courses in areas. The rectangular charnel house was constructed of parallel rows of headers and stretchers, a similar technique used in other charnel houses. The doorway was slightly offset in the northwest wall. Many of the bones, skulls and objects had accumulated along the walls, often grouped in clusters. The number of skulls recovered suggest a minimum number of 41 individuals. A number of animal bones were noted (camel, horse, and donkey). [3]Schaub, R. Thomas and Walter E. Rast. 1989. Bab edh-Dhra’. Excavations in the Cemetery Directed by Paul W. Lapp (1965-67). Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan, Volume 1. Winona … Continue reading A crescent-shaped copper axe blade was discovered in A 44.
References
| ↑1, ↑2 | Lapp, Nancy. 1977. Correspondence from Nancy Lapp to ASOR Corporation Representatives 1977, Lapp-ASOR December 1977, ASOR Archives. |
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| ↑3 | Schaub, R. Thomas and Walter E. Rast. 1989. Bab edh-Dhra’. Excavations in the Cemetery Directed by Paul W. Lapp (1965-67). Reports of the Expedition to the Dead Sea Plain, Jordan, Volume 1. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. |