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Chapter 20
Funerary Ritual
Mireia López-Bertran
The concern for burying their deceased and the belief in the soul’s afterlife show that the Phoenicians considered death as a transformation rather than as the end of a person’s life. Through our access to archaeological remains and written sources, we can reconstruct the existence of a meaningful burial program that was destined to provide a “good death.” Funerary rituals, thus, are the actions or gestures to achieve this goal. These rites have been defined as sequences of transformative actions (Ekengren 2013: 177) that have the purpose of providing the deceased with a safe journey and that comprise a set of rites and a specific spatial arrangement. This chapter aims to reconstruct these rites, but some caution has to be applied, not only because the available data in some cemeteries are insufficient but also because differences in the rites exist in regard to time and place.
Regarding the dead body, there is a double transformation: the death of the social body and the death of the biological one. The social body has to be reclassified as it sheds its previous identity and takes on an ancestral or spiritual life, while the corpse—that is, the physical body—undergoes a series of ritual actions designed to control its physical remains (Gramsch 2012: 462).
Phoenician and Punic communities deploy a series of funerary rituals that show differences in both time and geography, but also share common points that allow us to define a certain degree of homogeneity. One of the examples of variability and complexity is the use of both incineration and inhumation with regard to corpse treatment (e.g., figures 20.1 and 20.2). The overall picture is that of a chronological shift from incineration to inhumation from the sixth century bce onward. Accordingly, from the ninth to the sixth centuries bce, the predominant rite was incineration, whereas from the sixth century bce up to the second half of the fourth century bce, inhumation was generally adopted. Finally, from the third century bce on, incineration was reintroduced without totally replacing inhumation.
Figure 20.1 Inhumation from Monte Sirai cemetery, Sardinia.
Source: Courtesy of Michele Guirguis.
Figure 20.2 Cremation from Al-Bass cemetery, Tyre.
Source: Courtesy of Maria Eugenia Aubet.
However, this division is not as clear-cut as has been suggested. Incineration did not disappear completely when inhumation was adopted, even though it did become much rarer and was almost exclusively reserved for infants. These two funerary techniques do not seem to conflict, as they coexist simultaneously in archaic period on the Byrsa Hill and probably in Bir Massouda, both at Carthage (Docter et al. 2003) and Malta (Vidal González 1996: 28), among other locations. Interestingly, the semi-combustion rite (i.e., burning without destroying the bones) has been recorded exclusively in the Monte Sirai (Carbonia, Sardinia) so far, dated between the sixth and the fifth centuries bce. This practice has been recognized in tombs with human bones arranged deliberately in anatomically correct, primary position, after having been fired at temperatures ranging from 300 to 700º C (Guirguis 2010).
Regarding the kinds of burials, normally incinerations (primary and secondary) were located in the poz
zi (“wells”)—shallower, cylindrical pits at the bottom of which the remains of the corpse were placed, either in containers or not. Various kinds of fossae graves have also been documented; these are dug into the soil or rock, lined with stone slabs, or filled with a buried sarcophagus. Underground chambers, called hypogea, presented different sizes and entrances, like at Trayamar (Spain), a necropolis dated to the seventh century bce—a long entrance with a corridor or a simple vertical shaft. Inside them, several corpses were located, inhumated, and also cremated. Some are decorated with wall paintings with symbolic meanings, such as gorgon-like masks or otherworldly representations, as in Tuvixeddu (Cagliari, Sardinia) in use between the fourth and the third centuries bc. Also remarkable are the enchytrismoi—burials inside amphorae, especially used for children.
Huge funerary monuments have been recorded in the Levant and in the western Mediterranean alike; the megazhils from Amrit, Lebanon, are dated between the sixth and the fifth centuries bce, whereas the Punic tower-like monuments located in Tunisia, like the Dougga tower, are dated between the fourth and the second centuries bce (Prados 2008). Some monumental tombs even became heroa, sacred places atop the tomb of a singular person, as in the case of the monumental tomb of Casa del Obispo (Cádiz), built in the late sixth century bce (Prados 2012; Gener Basallote et al. 2014: 150).
Funerary inscriptions carved on stelae, urns, at the entrances of the funerary chamber, or on sarcophagi are common in both incinerations and inhumations. Although they are numerous, they give scarce information because they follow a repetitive and standardized pattern. In general, they show kinship relations through lineal descent, mentioning the names of the deceased, their patronymic, their occupations, and sometimes the names of the persons who curated the burial. Some inscriptions highlight the interest in creating and constructing the memory of the deceased through the erection of stelae (Ribichini 1987, 2004).
Eschatology
Although it is extremely challenging to reconstruct Phoenician afterlife beliefs, given the scant written sources available, the Phoenicians must have partaken in older Canaanite traditions. Mot (MWT, variously vocalized) was the Northwest Semitic word for death. Mot was also a god, recorded in Ugaritic texts, who challenged Baal, but who was ultimately restrained in the underworld. According to formulae in inscriptions, to be dead for the Phoenicians meant to be in a permanent state of rest or eternity (’LM). In addition, although there is not a clear word for “soul,” it is likely that they conceived it as formed by two parts: the nephesh (NPS) is the vegetative one, and once a person died it was intended to live in the tomb; that is why sometimes this word is also translated as “funerary monument.” This is clearly attested in the Zincirli inscription where the nps of the deceased appears as participating in a funerary meal (Pardee 2009: 62). The nephesh is located in the entrails and it has to be fed. The rouah (RH), also defined as the spiritual soul, abandons the body when the person dies and lives in the blood and the heart. Thus, this is the soul that goes to the other world and travels through the air. Objects representing birds, winged beings, or roosters symbolize this idea and the journey that souls undertake, usually across water, to a subterranean, shadowy world to meet their ancestors. The location of the necropoleis seems to materialize these eschatological ideas, as they are close to settlements but often separated by rivers, bays, or small valleys. This is certainly the case of Carthage, where the cemeteries are located on the different hills that surrounded the city (Fantar 1970; Frendo et al. 2005; Fumadó 2013; Pappa 2015) (see map 20.1; for Phoenician religion, see also chapter 19, this volume).
Map 20.1 Map of Carthage, with the evolution of the location of its cemeteries.
Source: Adapted from Fumadó 2013: 205, fig 30.
Pre-Burial Rituals
Once someone died, rituals were enacted to provide a safe and dignified afterlife. Dead bodies were transformed and prepared for the hereafter by being cleaned, perfumed/anointed with oils or resins, made up, shaved, and shrouded (Bénichou-Safar 1982: 273–78). Unfortunately, remains of shrouds are exceptional, such as the one from the feminine Sidonian coffin and from the monumental tomb of Casa del Obispo, both in Cádiz (Alfaro 1983; Gener-Basallote et al. 2014: 137). However, the occurrence of metal pins and fibulae on the shoulders and heads of skeletons indicates that the bodies were buried with some kind of garment.
Perfumes and oils were also used to anoint the deceased. One of the funerary inscriptions of a sarcophagus from Byblos describes how corpses were embalmed with myrrh and birch (Sader 2004: 82). Analysis of the remains of the monumental tomb of Casa del Obispo suggests that the body was anointed with fat and essential oils extracted from plants, specifically molecules of jasmine oil and other essential oils that probably were from black pepper, cinnamon, cannabis, and oregano (Gener Basallote et al. 2014: 137). In Carthage, emulsions of resins perfumed with aromatic plants have been identified among incinerated and inhumated bones (Bénichou Safar 1975–1976). We know about these rites because the objects used to prepare the bodies were brought to the tomb to accompany the deceased in their new lives. This is the case of the mushroom-rim jugs or perfume containers like aryballoi. The deceased were also made up in red, as suggested by traces of red ochre on some bones. Remains of ochre and cinnabar have been located inside wooden boxes or on ostrich-eggshell containers, found close to corpse faces in Carthaginian and Iberian tombs (Alatrache et al. 2001; Jiménez Flores 2002). The value of this color is explained by its purifying properties and its connection with blood (Bénichou-Safar 1982: 260; Bernardini 2004: 145). Another possible rite was the depilation of the head or of other body parts, suggested by the presence of bronze and iron razors in the cemeteries of Carthage, Sardinia, and Ibiza, which were generally placed near the dead person’s head.
A vital gesture for a proper afterlife was to protect the dead by decorating the body with objects such as jewels, amulets, or coins hanging from bracelets and anklets. It has been pointed out that these items were powerful because they had been used by either the deceased or the family prior to the death. The more these objects were used and touched, the more valuable (and presumably efficacious) they became, as they accumulated family and personal histories. It is possibly for this reason that jewels and amulets were not burned (but, rather, deposited after the cremation) in some burials from Al-Bass (Tyre, Lebanon), in use between the ninth and the seventh centuries bce (Aubet 2010: 149). Moreover, their central position inside the urn may illustrate their role as protection for the deceased.
The magical/protective function of jewelry can also be appreciated in traces of wear and repair. An example is the signatory ring at the monumental tomb of Casa del Obispo. This is a gold ring with two dolphins, a symbolic animal in Phoenician-Punic eschatology. The ring, therefore, is probably an heirloom, as it was used by no fewer than three generations and became a genealogical and status symbol (Gener-Basallote et al. 2014: 138).
Much as in Egyptian culture, for the Phoenicians amulets were basic in the otherworldly journey, which points to their belief that the passage was full of demons and other evil beings, according not only the apotropaic objects but also some written amulets with magic formulae, wall paintings of some hypogea, and written texts (Mazza 1975; Xella 2000; Velázquez Brieva 2007). Among the amulets, two types stand out: the Egyptian eyed-amulets known as oudjat (Horus eyes) and the apotropaic heads (protomae) made in glass. Eyes are powerful instruments for expelling the evil eye and exerting magical power, whereas the apotropaic heads present wrinkled faces, broad noses, or grimaces whose gestures acted as protection. The vibrant colors of these objects may have reinforced their effect.
Lamenting the Dead
Burial rites might have been accompanied by expressions of bereavement, such as mourning and lamentation. An explicit mention of this type of ritual song is in Herodotus (2.79), who refers to the “Linos-song” as a Phoenician-Cypriot funerary chant (Fariselli 2010: 17). At the iconographic level, we can cite the tenth-century bce stone sarcop
hagus of Ahiram, king of Byblos, the reliefs on which represent mourners tearing at their hair and ripping their clothes (Cecchini 2006). Music of grief would have accompanied the deceased not only in pre-burial rites but also during the funerary march and dance to bring the dead to the necropolis, as well as during the burial. Direct evidence of music at the burial site comes from Puig des Molins (Ibiza), the cemetery of the Ibiza town from the seventh century bce onward, and Carthage, where some tombs contained bronze cymbals and small bells (Fantar 1995: 85; Fernández 1992: 197). Bells were also used as necklace pendants with a religious and prophylactic function. Presumably, playing the cymbals and ringing the bells were ways of warding off evil spirits, which otherwise could harm the deceased in the afterlife (Bénichou-Safar 1982: 270).
Indirect evidence of music is provided by female terracotta figurines playing instruments as found in several cemeteries, such as Tharros (Sardinia), Puig des Molins (Ibiza), and Carthage, all of them dated between the seventh and the second centuries bce (figure 20.3). Players also appear engraved on funerary stelae and on the bronze and copper razors that were buried with the deceased (López-Bertran and Garcia-Ventura 2012). Most of the figures are playing hand-drums, and some of them have double pipes and kitharas. Percussion instruments often appear in association with women and mourning, which suggests that music was performed, either symbolically (played by divinities or supernatural beings) or in real rituals.
Figure 20.3 Female figurine playing the hand drum from Puig des Molins, Ibiza.
Source: Photograph Museu de Prehistoria de València.
Interestingly, the mourners and musicians represented are overwhelmingly female, which may be interpreted as a way to empower women and to highlight their role in funerary arenas (López-Bertran and Garcia-Ventura 2012; Delgado and Ferrer 2007). Indeed, it has been argued that female members of the family of the dead person would have been in charge of mourning and the pre-burial treatments mentioned here. Furthermore, it is feasible that professional female musicians would have participated in elite funerals.
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