2,000-year-old Ossuaries Recovered

May 21, 2014

A number of suspects were caught while in possession of eleven decorated stone ossuaries—ancient coffins—that the Jewish population used for burial in the Second Temple Period, two thousand years ago. Some of the ossuaries still contained the skeletal remains of the deceased. Stone ossuaries were used for secondary burial during this period. The ossuaries are decorated with typical Jewish symbols, among them the lily flower, the six-petal rosette and other symbols. These decorations were a major element of the Jewish art of the period.

Shallow engravings were found on the walls of two of the seized ossuaries. They cite the names of the deceased whose bones were collected in the coffins. One of the engraved ossuaries bore the name “Ralfin.” This name is apparently a Hebraized form of an unusual Roman name. On the other ossuary is a Greek inscription that could not be deciphered, and below it the name “Yo‘azar,” in squared Hebrew script. The name Yo‘azar was a common Jewish name in the Second Temple Period, and occurs in contemporary written sources, such as the writings of Josephus.

According to Dr. Eitan Klein, “These are singular finds. The inscriptions on the ossuaries provide us with additional characters and names from amongst the Jewish population in the Second Temple Period, and the motifs adorning the ossuaries will supplement our knowledge with new information about the world of Jewish art in this period.” Dr. Klein stated, “There is no doubt that the ossuaries were recently looted from a magnificent burial cave in Jerusalem. Remnants of paint remained on top of the ossuaries and the containers themselves belong to the group of “magnificent Jerusalem” ossuaries that were manufactured in the city in antiquity”.