MIDDLE BRONZE AGE BURIALS ON TELL ES-SULTAN CHRONOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Sandra Antonetti

The four archaeological expeditions (E. Sellin and C. Watzinger 1907-1909; J. Garstang 1930-1936; K.M. Kenyon 1952-1958; Rome University "La Sapienza" with the Department of Antiquity of Palestine 1997-2000), which excavated Tell es-Sultan since 1907, discovered some MB burials on the tell. The aim of the paper is to propose a chronology for these tombs by using comparable materials found in strata of Tell es-Sultan.
Burials excavated on the tell can be subdivided in three main types: jar burials, pit burials and built-up burials.
The Deutsches Orient Gesellschaft Expedition investigated 13 burials, pit burials for adults and jar burials for infants, in the northern and central part of the tell, apparently dug under the floors of some houses.
An indeterminate number of jar burials was excavated by Garstang near the Middle Bronze Tower, while other three pit burials were found by Kenyon in area HI - II - VI, the same area where the famous archaeologist excavated tomb HAR, a vaulted burial chamber built of mudbricks, with multiple inhumations inside.
The Italian Expedition of Rome University "La Sapienza" has found another inhumation of two individuals in Area G, located on the "Spring Hill" of the tell, equipped with pottery, jewelry and food offerings.
The comparison of finds from these burials and materials retrieved in MB houses and palaces is aimed at dating tombs found inside the MB fortifications in respect of the tombs of the Necropolis. The determination of the chronology of intra-moenia burials could be a useful tool to date the Necropolis with an absolute chronology based on stratigraphical elements.
Moreover, the materials from these burials will be studied in order to distinguish each equipment and to make possible an examination of the differences in the funerary custom between the intra-moenia and the extra-moenia burials.