Burial practices in early Byzantine Syro-Palestine (4th–7th centuries CE) – review article

Abstract

The paper summarises current knowledge of burial customs in Syro-Palestine in the early Byzantine period (4th–7th centuries CE). It identifies elements that constituted the continuation of burial practices from the Roman period (1st–3rd centuries CE) as well as new customs. It includes the location of burial grounds, forms of graves, the variety of grave goods and body positioning. Quantitative research has demonstrated a gradual departure from chamber tombs and sarcophagi in the early Byzantine period. Burials in monasteries and, to a lesser extent, churches were a completely new trend that appeared during this period, related to the spread of Christianity. The paper also proposes a more widespread use of radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analysis. The results of such studies would deepen knowledge of burial customs in Syro-Palestine in the final phases of antiquity.