FIRE IN FUNERAL CONTEXTS: NEW DATA FROM TELL AL-NASRIYAH (SYRIA)

Aline Tenu (1) , Stéphane Rottier (2)

1 ArScAn - Archéologies et Sciences de l'Antiquité
2 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie

In 2008, a cremation cemetery was found at Tell al-Nasriyah. Located in the lower city, it has so far yielded about 50 cinerary urns. First radiocarbon dates give a time range between the 15th and the 11th centuries BC for the cremation graves. They contained human bones usually well burnt, sometimes faunal remains also cremated, and very frequently shapeless residues of melted vitreous material. We also found a more recent (11th-9th cent. BC) ashy layer with less cremated human bones. This new data allows for a relevant analysis of the role of fire in the cremation process and of its evolution.

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Archéologie et Préhistoire

Aline Tenu, Stéphane Rottier. FIRE IN FUNERAL CONTEXTS: NEW DATA FROM TELL AL-NASRIYAH (SYRIA). 8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Apr 2012, Varsovie, Poland. ⟨halshs-02359906⟩