Ossuary with Painted and Sculpted Facial Features

Ossuary with Painted and Sculpted Facial Features
Clay
H. 62.5 cm; W. 35 cm; D. 48 cm
Peqi’in, 4500–3600 BCE
Israel Antiquities Authority: 2007-1850, exhibited at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Photography by Elie Posner © The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Made in the shape of a six-legged animal, this ossuary has four corresponding sets of handles on both long sides. The handles were most probably used to transport and place the ossuary in the cave and, once it was filled with the deceased’s bones, to close it by running sticks through the loops.