Image Details
David Harris, courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, lent by the Israel Department of Antiquities
House-shaped ossuary: This interment vessel for human bones dates to the second half of the fourth millennium B.C. (the Chalcolithic period). Architectural features—a “window” and two flanking “columns”—adorn the 26-inch-high pottery chest. The function of the knob-like projections on the structure’s upper facade is unknown. The fin-shaped projection is a stylized nose; Chalcolithic ossuaries often feature prominent noses, sometimes accompanied by round eyes.