• So K. H. Charles, Esohaloloav, p. 82. t Kayce, Social Life among th» Auvriant and Babiilonian$, p. 67.
456
SEPULCHRE
SEPULCHRE
found in Western Palestine:* (i.) Rock-hewn Tombs; (ii. ) Masonry Tombs ; (iii.) Sarcophagi.
i. KoCK-HEWN Tomhs. — These are by far the most numerous, and they are found in many varieties. They are also the earliest in date. The soft limestone ranges of Western Palestine and Syria were honeycombed with natural caves, admit- ting of easy enlargement and adaptation. They had been available for the shelter of the living before being used for the reception of the dead (1 S 22' 243). The usual form of Hebrew tomb in the earliest period took advantage of these caverns in the soft strata of limestone. In this the Hebrews copied the Phoenicians, whose prin- ciple of architecture, Kenan tells us,t was the carved rock, not the column, as with the Greeks ; but in point of architectural taste and skill they were far behind their masters. In striking con- trast to the Egyptian sepulchral monuments, — massive pyramids and vast underground chambers, — the Hebrew tomb, wliether single or more com- plex, was marked by extreme simplicity. In fact, simplicity of construction and absence of archi- tectural ornament are the surest notes of tlie antiquity of a Hebrew sepulchre. No less remark- able IS the contrast between the inscriptions and wall-paintings on EgA _)tian tombs — as at Beni- Hassan and elsewhere — and the plain and un- adorned simplicity of Hebrew tombs, which until a late period are entirely devoid of inscriptions. In some eases tombs are found singly on the hill- sides, as though individuals chose to have their last resting-place in their own vineyard, like Joseph of Arimathfea, who had his own new tomb in his garden. More often they form a regular burying- ground or cemetery. Tombs of notable person- ages, like the so-called Tomb of Joshua, have gener- ally other tombs around them, the desire being strong among all Orientals to be laid near to some holy man or national hero.
(1) The simplest form of rock-he^vn tomb is that in which a grave has been sunk in the surface of the rock to receive the body, and fitted witli a slab, let in round the mouth, to cover it, the cover being sometimes flush with the flat surface of tlie rock, and sometimes raised and ornamented like the lid of a sarcophagus.
(2) Another simple form of tomb is an excava- tion driven into tue face of a rock — called iiis, plural D'5i3 — just large enough to receive a corpse, the mouth being closed hy a rough stone slab.
(3) The most common description of tomb is that in wliich a number of kokini are grouped together in one or more chambers of the same excavation. These, again, are in tliree varieties : (a) A sepulclire consisting of a natural cavern in one of the softer strata of limestone, having kukim cut in its sides with their beds on a level with the floor, the mouths of these being closed by rough stone slabs, either made to fit close, or only resting against the perforated face of rock, (b) A sepulchre where a square or oblong chamber has been cut in the rock, and kokim ranged along three of its sides, their mouths closed by neatly dressed stone slabs fitting closely, the entrance to the chamber itself being by a low square opening, fitted with a slab in the same manner, or with a stone door turning on a socket hinge, and secured by bolts on the inside. In this kind of tomb there is usually a bench running in front of the kukim, and raised from 1 ft. 6 in. to 3 ft. above the floor of the excavated chamber, (c) A sepulchre in which one entrance leads into a number of chambers, each containing kokim. Such tombs generally have a
• We follow SirCharlee Wllson'sclassiflcation : Bee The Survej/ »/ Wrgtem Pale*tim, Volume of Special Papers, p. 280 £f. ; and PEFftt, 1869, p. «6fl., where there are useful plans.
t iliasion de PMnicU, p. 822.
sort of porch or vestibule hewn in the rock, tha front of the roof being often supported by pillan of natural rock surmounted by a frieze, and bear- ing other kinds of ornamentation. From thia porch a low door leads into an antechamber, with or ■\vithout tombs, from which access is obtained to the tomb chambers, all of which have raised benches running in front of the kokim openings. Some of the chambers have, instead of kokim, arched 'ecesses (arcosolia) cut out in their sides, in which the body was laid, or perhaps a sarcophagus placed. The so-called Tomb of Joshua at Tibneh, on the Roman road from Antipatris to Jerusalem, is of this class. It is prominent among the nine tombs that make the rock cemetery of the place, and haa a portico supported on rude pieces of rock with very simple capitals. There are niches for over two hundred lamps, arranged in vertical rows, giving the appearance of an ornamental pattern, and all smoke-blacked. ' Entering the low door,' says Conder, ' we find the interior chamber to be a square with five loculi, not very perfectly cut, on their sides. The whole is quite unomamented, except by four very rough brackets supporting the flat roof. On becoming accustomed to the dark- ness, one perceives that the central lociUus at thu back forms a little passage about 7 ft. long, 2 ft. 6 in. high, and 3 ft. 4 in. broad, through which onb creeps into a second but smaller chamber, 9 ft. 3 in. by 8 ft. 1 in., and 5 ft. 5 in. high. In this, opposite the entrance, a single loculus runs at right angles to the wall, and a single niche is cut on the left for a lamp.' *