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Israel Antiquities Authority/Mariana Salzberger

The Peqi’in cave’s anthropomorphic ossuaries, many with flared nostrils and gaping mouths, may have been sculpted to capture the spirit of the deceased reinterred inside. A most unusual ossuary (shown here, compare with photo of figurine depicting female torso) depicts two smiling faces. Was the sculptor of these “twins” indicating that the bones of two people were buried in the same ossuary?