‘Atiqot - Publications of the Israel Antiquities Authority

‘Atiqot 80 (2015) ISBN 2948-040X

A Cemetery, a Quarry and Remains of a Church at Ketef Hinnom, Jerusalem (Hebrew, Pp. 23*–53*; English summary, pp. 141–142)
Rina Avner and Yehiel Zelinger
Keywords: necropolis, burial customs, stone quarries, cosmetics bowl, Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest, numismatics
The excavations at the site exposed the remains of two burial caves from Iron Age II, which were destroyed by quarrying activity during the Second Temple period. The area was exploited again for burial during the Late Roman period. This later cemetery held evidence of cremation—a burial custom attributed to the pagan population living in Jerusalem after the fall of the Second Temple. The architectural finds from the Byzantine period confirmed the previous identification of auxiliary rooms next to the apse of the church. The finds include pottery and stone objects dating to Iron Age II and the Persian, early Hellenistic, Early Roman and Late Roman–Byzantine periods.