Burial Chamber III at Ḥorvat ʿEthri — Late Roman Funerary Iconography / מערכת קבורה III בחורבת עתרי ועיטוריה: איקונוגרפיה פונררית מן התקופה הרומית המאוחרת

Horvat ʿEthri is situated in the Judean foothills, 5 km. south of the Elah Valley and 8 km. northeast of Beth Guvrin. The site was occupied from the 4th century bce to the beginning of the 5th century ce. Five distinct phases were exposed. Presented here is a decorated burial chamber, utilized during the 3rd-4th centuries ce (Phase 5). The chamber, incompletely hewn, was cut into a disused 1st century CE subterranean complex, located outside the perimeter of the Phase 5 settlement. The complex consisted of two interconnected chambers (A and B). During Phase 5, Chamber B was converted into a tomb. It consisted of a square burial chamber along whose sides are three arcosolia, two with burial troughs and one with a flat shelf. The chamber was looted before the excavations, leaving few finds: a complete Ramat Mamre lamp decorated with schematic birds, fragments of a Beit Nattif lamp and a round lamp with decorated discus, indicating usage during the 3rd and 4th centuries CE. On the façade of two of the burial troughs, schematic motifs were carved in relief. Two round discs appear on Trough 1, resembling round military shields (clipei). The clipeus was a common motif on Roman tombstones and sarcophagi, symbolizing the victorious departed or the victory of the soul over death. Trough 2 has a schematic relief of a three-legged funerary kliné (lectus funebris) with an amphora beneath it. A high rectangular incense altar appears to the left of the kliné. The lectus funebris and the altar are common motifs in Roman funerary art. The symbols on the fa9ade of the trough pertain to the Graeco-Roman ritual of presentation of the deceased (πρόθεσις). In this ritual, after the washing and preparation of the body, it was placed on a lectus funebris. The deceased was surrounded by mourners and incense altars were lit nearby. The amphora was also a common symbol in Graeco-Roman funerary art. Parallels to the artifacts portrayed indicate that these symbols occur most frequently in Roman funerary art of the western and eastern parts of the empire, an apparent indication of the cultural background of the deceased and his family.