Newly discovered tombs in Syria contain signs of the ritual sacrifice of humans and animals, including the skeletons of decapitated donkeys, said archaeologist Glenn Schwartz of Johns Hopkins University.
“Animal sacrifices were certainly a big part of this culture in that offerings of sheep and other animals are given to the gods to eat and also given to deceased royal ancestors,” said Schwartz.
Since they found no more than eight skeletons per tomb, the archaeologists hypothesize that these are tombs of different families or dynasties.
“The tombs were built on the highest and most central part of the city and thus would have been visible from everywhere else and would have dominated the local landscape,” he said.
In one of the tombs (Tomb 7) are the skeletal remains of three to four individuals, dating to about 2200 B.C. It differs from the others in that it contains the skeletal remains of animals and, in some cases, human infants.
The animal skeletons are predominantly equines, most likely donkeys, onagers (wild cousins to the donkey), or a hybrid of the two.
Thus far, the bones of 27 complete individuals have been retrieved, often found standing upright. Each of the decapitated skulls was found on a separate ledge or in other positions.
The equid remains were sometimes found adjacent to baby bones, perhaps indicating that infant sacrifice went along with equid sacrifice in rituals honouring the important people buried nearby, Schwartz said.
“Clearly, the interment of animals, especially equids, as well as infants, accompanied by rituals of libation implied by the spouted vessels, was a component of the procedures enacted in the Acropolis centre mortuary complex.”
While modern society might not find as much value in them, donkeys and mules were thought of as royal animals and superior to horses, which were newly domesticated in the days of Tuba. Donkeys had only been domesticated in the fourth millennium and still had a lot of cachet and were expensive.
“I suspect that the sacrifice of these equids in our tombs has something to do with their association with the highest rank of society,” said Schwartz. “It would be like a wealthy person today being buried with his or her Rolls Royce.”
There is still much to be explored and analyzed before the archaeologists fully understand the tomb complex and all it can teach them about rulership and ritual in early urban Syria.
The tombs are located about 35 miles east of the site of Aleppo, the main city and dominant centre in the region dating at least as far back as 2000 B.C.
It is situated on what was a vital east-west trade route connecting Mesopotamia with Aleppo and ultimately the Mediterranean Sea. Because it is also bordered by an agricultural zone to the west and a steppe zone to the east (that was home to nomadic pastoralists) it is believed that people traded their wares, such as dairy products and wool from the east, for grain from the west.
Given differences in ceramic objects found in the tombs, Schwartz and his team have concluded that they were built sequentially over three centuries, from about 2500 to about 2200 B.C. The tombs were built next to each other, with the complex expanding horizontally.
“We hope to excavate below the tombs already identified to investigate the origins of the mortuary complex,” he said.
“Clearly, there is much need for further analysis and interpretation, but it is hoped that the new evidence will assist in expanding our understanding of Syria’s first complex societies, closely connected to Mesopotamia and yet with their own distinctive character and identity.”
