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Stable Isotope Dietary Analysis on Human Remains: A case Study at Khirbet Aqabet Al Qadi Burial Chamber, Nablus, Palestine

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2019

Loay Abu Alsaud ,
Awni Shawamra ,
Amer Qobbaj ,
Jehad Yasin ,
Mohammad Al-Khateeb ,
Abdul Khaliq Issa ,
Alfonso Fanjul Peraza  and
Verónica Pérez de Dios
Loay Abu Alsaud*
Affiliation:
Department of Tourism and Archaeology, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
Awni Shawamra
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeological Sites Registration, Palestinian Ministry of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, Ramallah, Palestine
Amer Qobbaj
Affiliation:
Department of History, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
Jehad Yasin
Affiliation:
General Directorate of Excavations and Museums, Palestinian Ministry of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, Ramallah, Palestine
Mohammad Al-Khateeb
Affiliation:
Department of History, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
Abdul Khaliq Issa
Affiliation:
Faculty of Humanities, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
Alfonso Fanjul Peraza
Affiliation:
Archaeologist, Oviedo City Council, Oviedo, Spain
Verónica Pérez de Dios
Affiliation:
Freelance archaeologist, Salamanca, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. Email: Loayabualsaud@najah.edu.
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Abstract

In 2016, a burial chamber hewn into limestone was discovered at Khirbet Aqabet Al Qadi on the northwestern slope of Mount Ebal, 2km north of the city center of Nablus. The floor of the chamber is 3.15 × 2.9 m and the height averages 1.8 m. A movable closure at the entrance consists of a limestone slab. The burial chamber houses four sarcophagi. The aim of this case study is to give information not only on the burial chamber but also, for the first time in the region, on human remains. Stable isotope analysis of a human bone sample enabled us to obtain dietary information on one individual. Due to low collagen content, the sample did not allow precise dating but it can be placed between 50 BC and 50 AD. Systematic illegal excavation and looting at funerary sites in the Nablus area has caused material for potential information to be missing at the site. Nonetheless, the dietary information obtained supports other material finds indicating Mediterranean agricultural use of the land. Our evidence demonstrates that the site dates to between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD.

Keywords

burial cavefunerary sitehuman bonesNablusPalestinesarcophagiskeletal remains
Type
Case Study
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 61 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 1107 - 1120
Copyright
© 2019 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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