[Avodah] Likut Atzomos (T613K at aol.com)

[saul mashbaum]

>>
I thought they did not "bury their dead in a grave" but kept the bones in some kind of container until the flesh decayed, after which they buried the bones.  The pile of bones would take up much less space than a whole body, and in a city where space for burial was scarce (old Y-m, 2000 years ago) and it was also hard to dig a grave in rocky ground, there would be a big advantage to having graves as small as possible.  They also used to bury the bones of several people in the same small plot.  I may be wrong about all this, it's just dim memories and impressions.
>>
I dont believe that this is completely correct. From what I understand, the body was "buried" by placing it, whole, in a cavity hewn into the side of a cave, which was sealed by a stone. After several years, when the boy had decayed, the stone was removed, and the bones were put in a small container (which had to be only about 1.5 feet long, the length of the longest bone in the body, the thigh bone). This of course freed up the cavity for reuse. The small container was, I believe buried, as RTK indicates.

I recently saw such a burial ground, from the time of the mishna,  on Har Hazeitim.

Saul Mashbaum
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