Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert

Chapter V 
Conclusions 
In the southern cemetery of Achziv in the Iron Age, 
the built tombs (Types 1.A and 1.B) are the earliest 
evidence for burials found so far. These tombs, built 
of rough stones, are unique in building style at Achziv. 
This style is known from eleventh century sites where 
the Sea Peoples settled, such as Tel Zeror and Tel 
Farah (S). This evidence suggests that the Sea Peoples 
settled in Achziv. The description of the Phoenician 
coast in the Egyptian Wen Arnmon story shows the 
complex relations between the rulers of the Sea 
Peoples along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean 
and the rulers of the Phoenician~.~' 
Tomb T.C.4 (Type 1.B) was never finished. Its 
rough-stone building style does not continue among 
the other tombs in Achziv during the Iron Age. Since 
we have not found any other tombs of this type here, 
it might be assumed that the discontinuation of this 
style of building is related to the disappearance of 
the Sea Peoples from Achziv. 
The chamber tombs built of ashlar stones (Type 
IC, dating as early as the tenth century) ought to be 
related to the Phoenicians. These tombs show an 
influence rooted in the Late Bronze Age culture of 
the Phoenician coast, even though a gap of 300 years 
exists between these tombs and the fourteenth- to 
thirteenth-century built tornbs at Ugarit. 
Why were men, a70men and children, together 
wit!: their burial gifts, interred as secondary burials in 
T.C.4 (Type I.B)? Sirnilarly, why were secondary burials 
placed in pits under the floors in the chamber tombs 
built of ashlar stones (T.C.l and T.C.2; Type I.C)? One 
explanation for this mass of secondary burials is that 
they were moved to the southern cemetery from 
another location, perhaps the northern cemetery. It is 
possible that the need arose to "clear" the northern 
cemetery sometime in the tenth to ninth century, when 
it turned to serve as a cremation site (Tophet). The 
newly established tenth-century Tophet with its central 
crematorium structure rnight have been the impetus for 
moving inhumation burials to the southern cemetery 
and thereby creating space for the new cremations. 
Since the secondary burials in the pits were not 
added to the original burials of the tombs, but instead 
were buried separately under the floor at the foot of the 
entrances (in tombs type LC), this rnight be an indication 
that those secondary burials were related to the owners 
of the tombs. These areas were chosen for the pits in 
order to separate these burials from those already in the 
tombs. Moreover, since on entering the tomb one must 
have had to step over these burials, their location 
probably indicates their relatively less importance. 
Tombs T.C.l and T.C.2 (Type 1.C) are evidence 
of the last phase of a 300-year old architectural style. 
These were later developed as rock cut tombs adapting 
characteristics of the ashlar built tombs. Those in 
Achziv were constructed during the tenth century and 
were used for many generations unti1 the end of the 
Iron Age. Similar burial customs continued throughout 
this time. 
Burials and gifts were laid together. The burials 
were laid in a supine position along the long wall 
away from the entrance. The previous burials and 
their burial gifts were moved to the pile at the back 
of the tomb. The gifts in the built tombs were personal, 
mainly pottery vessels and jewelry. From some of the 
gifts we infer the occupation of the deceased, such as 
the lead weights from a fishing net found by Prausnitz 
in T .C . l ,  which were  most  likely owned by  a 
f i ~ h e r m a n . ~ ~  
The bullhead mask found in Tomb T.C.2 
probably symbolizes the god Ba'al. The representation 
of the main Phoenician god Ba'al appears also on 
stelae in the Tophet site of Achziv. These are examples 
where the representation of the god Ba'al was found 
in burial complexes. Concerning the bullhead masks 
made from bull skulls found in Cyprus (see discussion 
Type LC), it can be assumed that the votive masks from 
Achziv were considered as a talisman, which people 
would associate with the role of bull skulls during 
cult ceremonies in the temples. 
While discussing the Achziv tombs, it is important 
to emphasize that remains of cult activity were 
preserved outside the tombs. This shows that burial 
ceremonies were conducted in the tombs'  
surroundings. 
In the built tombs in the southern cemetery, 
men, women and children of all ages were buried 
(Types 1.B and 1.C). ?Jo cremation burials were brought 
37 Pritchard, 16-24. 38 These finds are unpublished. 
CUADERNOS DE ARQLTOLOGÍA MEDITERR~LNEA / VOL. 7 
inside the built tombs. However, a very interesting 
phenomenon was discovered near the tombs. Child 
burials inside pottery vessels were found near these 
tombs, one burial in each pottery vessel. Three burials 
were found in separate jars and one in a bowl. This 
phenomenon of burials outside the tombs reminds us 
of the cremated burials of adults also found outside 
some of the tombs. We know that children were never 
cremated in the Iron Age (or in other periods) in 
Phoenicia. Accordingly, it is highly probable that the 
same reasons that caused some of the children to be 
buried outside the tombs also caused some of the 
Phoenician adults to be cremated and buried separately 
(L.500 near T.A.68). 
In tomb II.A.l a pottery mask of a woman was 
found by Prausnitz. Severa1 masks were found in other 
shaft tombs in the southern cemetery by Ben-Dor. All 
were votive masks, averaging 13 cm, with three holes 
along the perimeter to attach a string (Stern 1976: 
117). Different assumptions have been proposed as to 
the use of these masks and their meaning. It seems 
likely that they were meant to give protection to the 
deceased (Stern 1976: 117-118; Culican 1976: 71 ff.; 
Pritchard 1988: 70-71). 
Quarrying of five of the tombs, similar to tomb 
type II.A, was suddenly stopped (Type 1I.B). The next 
phase of tomb building continued in rock-cut shaft 
tombs with closed rock-cut ceilings. In the unfinished 
tombs the methods of cutting the rock are clearly 
visible. The shaft and the chamber  were  cut  
simultaneously from above, using the vertical quanying 
technique. This had the added benefit of producing 
rectangular stones for further construction. In the 
tombs with rock-cut ceilings, the rock was cut out by 
a chisel from the side, resulting in piles of waster 
chips. However, type 1I.C shows a transitional phase, 
indicating the hesitations relating to this change. In 
these transitional tombs the open ceiling of the burial 
chamber became smaller. In these tombs, both 
chiseling techniques were used: the vertical quarrying 
technique for the shafts and chiseling from the side for 
the chamber itself. It is clear that by the eighth century, 
all the shaft tombs were constructed with closed rock- 
cut ceilings. 
During the Iron Age in Achziv, the chamber 
tombs built of ashlar stones (Type 1.C) represent the 
first phase of a successive development of tomb 
architecture. These are followed by shaft tombs with 
built ceilings (Type 11). Five tombs, begun in a similar 
manner to Type II.A, were unfinished. These we 
classify as Type 1I.B. The ashlar building style is 
abandoned and followed by the rock-cut style that 
preserved some of the previous building characteristics, 
such as the slightly inward slanted walls and ceilings 
built of stone slabs. The built ceilings emphasize the 
close ties between the two building styles. This 
development appeared sometime in the tenth century. 
At this time the trend begins to separate each burial 
individually by putting a few medium size stones 
around the burial as a border. A bordering line of 
stones, found in Type II.A, developed into beds along 
the walls in Type 1I.C. The large number of burials 
(more than ten) found in these tombs indicates that 
the separation purpose of each burial form the others 
was not achieved. 
In the shaft tombs the same picture of personal 
burial gifts appears as in the built tombs. The deceased 
were buried together with their personal jewelry, 
mainly copper alloy earrings and bracelets, pottery 
vessels, working tools and cult objects. The horsemen 
figurines and the iron arrowheads discovered in T.C.68 
(type 1I.E) are probably related to the occupation of 
one or more of the deceased in the tomb who were 
soldiers. It is interesting to note the figurines of the 
musicians playing tambourines or double flutes that 
were laid in these tombs. Their existence in the tombs 
can be related to the need to entertain the gods or 
simply to entertain the deceased themselves in their 
life after death. 
The shaft tombs in the southern cemetery do 
not continue in use during the Persian Period. It seems 
that towards the end of the Iron Age (7-6 centuries) 
and through the Persian period, new developed shaft 
tombs were cut solely in the eastern cemetery. These 
tombs continue the trend of separating the burials by 
using not only beds but also by adding niches 
(kukhim) and cut sarcophagi. 
It is very important to remember that most of 
the tombs in the southern cemetery were continuously 
used through many generations in the Iron Age. Only 
tomb T.C.3 can be dated from the end of eleventh 
century to the beginning of tenth century and tomb 
T.C.4 can be dated from the tenth century to the end 
of the ninth century. The other earlier tombs (types Ic 
and IIa) were used over hundreds of years unti1 the 
end of the Iron Age (Mazar 2000). The excavations at 
the southern cemetery of Achziv give us a rich picture 
of the Phoenicians' material culture in their homeland. 
THE PHOENICLANS IN ACHZIV. THE SOUTHERK CEMETERY 
Summary table - Built tombs (Sea-People (?) tradition) 
Summary table - Built tombs (Phoenician tradition) 
Type of tomb 
T@e I.A: Cist tombs built of rough stones. 
(?I C 
Type 1.B: Chamber tomb built of rough stones. 
and cut sarcophagi, appears in the Eastern Cemetery 
Date 
end of eleventh century 
end of eleventh century - beginning of 
tenth century 


Chapter V

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