IN 1961, A FARMER FROM THE VILLAGE OF DEB'AAL DISCOVERED A HYPOGEUM while digging a cistern by his house. This hypogeum (T. 29) is one of the few tombs in the region that was left untouched by grave robbers. It yielded a vast array of coffins and grave goods, and provides a unique insight into the customs of placing items with the dead. Figure 23 illustrates the items put in one of the graves of the Deb'aal tomb, a lead sarcophagus placed in a loculus. This chapter analyzes the items that accompanied the dead. Such artifacts were not merely personal belongings given to comfort the dead, or parts of his or her wardrobe. They represent conscious selections of the burying community, and this chapter aims to unravel the meaning behind these choices. Doing so allows us to tie the discussion of grave goods to the themes of this book. What were the main features of mortuary practices in Roman Syria; and what are the patterns of continuity and change? Chapter 2 drew attention to another theme, that of distinctions in the burying community. People were not buried in the same types of tomb or even container. This chapter asks if they were accompanied by similar sets of artifacts.

The first section discusses distributions across the main categories of grave goods, as represented in Figure 23: items of personal adornment and vessels, as well as coins and lamps (not pictured in the image). The second section focuses on the patterns of variation and standardization of grave good assemblages, and traces their placement over tomb types, and over time. Concluding this chapter is a discussion of the possible function of the items in the tombs, in practical and in spiritual terms. In many ways, the grave good assemblages illustrate patterns that diverge from those established in Chapter 2. In the selection of gifts for the dead, Syrian communities kept close to older customs.