Bronze 'bathtub' coffins : : in the context of 8th-6th century BC Babylonian, Assyrian and Elamite funerary practices / / Yasmina Wicks.

• Superior document: Archaeopress archaeology
• VerfasserIn: Wicks, Yasmina,
• Place / Publishing House: Oxford : : Archaeopress Publishing Ltd,, [2015]; ©2015
• Year of Publication: 2015
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Archaeopress archaeology.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (vi, 165 pages) :; illustrations, map.

This volume is dedicated to the examination of a small corpus of bronze U-shaped burial receptacles from ancient Mesopotamia and Elam, dubbed 'bathtub' coffins for their characteristic apsidal shape, reminiscent of a style of 19th and early 20th century bathtub.

Table of Contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Preface
• Introduction
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1
• The Bronze 'Bathtub' Coffins of Mesopotamia and Elam
• 1.1. Introduction
• 1.2. The Bronze 'Bathtub' Coffin Corpus
• 1.2.1. The Nimrud Bronze 'Bathtub' Coffins
• 1.2.2. The Ur Bronze 'Bathtub' Coffins
• 1.2.3. The Arjan Bronze 'Bathtub' Coffin
• 1.2.4. The Ram Hormuz Bronze 'Bathtub' Coffins
• 1.2.5. The Zincirli Bronze 'Bathtub' Vessel
• 1.2.6. Unprovenanced Bronze 'Bathtub' Vessels
• 1.2.7. Additional Bronze Coffins of Varying Forms
• 1.3. Manufacture
• 1.4. Workshops
• 1.5. Dating and Origins
• Figure 1 - Map indicating main sites mentioned in text, locations of bronze 'bathtub' discoveries marked by a star (source: USGS).
• Figure 2 - Plan indicating locations of the four main tomb chambers (labelled Gruft I-IV) in the 'domestic wing' of the Northwest Palace of Ashurnasirpal at Nimrud (after Hauser 2012: Abb. F - 12).
• Figure 3 - Plan showing bronze 'bathtub' coffins in the antechamber of Tomb III at Nimrud
• Figure 4 - Coffin 2 in situ in the antechamber of Tomb III at Nimrud
• Figure 5 - Nimrud Coffin 1 showing grave goods in their location of discovery
• Figure 6 - Nimrud Coffin 2 showing grave goods in their location of discovery
• Figure 7 - Nimrud Coffin 3 showing grave goods in their location of discovery
• Figure 8 - Plan of the 'domestic wing' of the Northwest Palace at Nimrud indicating possible route (with dashed line) from the vaulted complex underneath rooms 74 and 75 to Tomb III underneath Room 57 (modified after Hussein 2002: Fig. 1).
• Figure 9 - Drawing of the vaulted complex underneath Rooms 74 and 75 of the Northwest Palace at Nimrud
• Figure 10 - Plan of Ur including the area of the giparu of Kurigalzu.
• Figure 11 - Drawings of the Ur PG1 and PG2 burial chambers, after drawings in C. L. Woolley's field notes
• Figure 12 - Left: Ur bronze 'bathtub' coffins PG1 and PG2 in situ (after Woolley 1962: Pl. 17a)
• top right: Coffin PG1
• Figure 13 - Ur bronze 'bathtub' coffin PG1 in situ inside its roughly made chamber
• Figure 15 - Ur burials PG1 (left) and PG2 (right) with locations of selected grave goods marked (field sketches by C. L. Woolley, after Molleson and Hodgson 2003: Fig. 23
• clean line drawings after Curtis 1983: Fig. 1).
• Figure 16 - Location of the Arjan Tomb on the left bank of the Marun River
• Figure 17 - Line drawings of the Arjan tomb chamber and contents
• Figure 18 - Line drawings of the Arjan bronze 'bathtub' coffin and contents (left) and photograph of the coffin (right)
• Figure 19 - The Arjan bronze 'bathtub' coffin handles, lid handle and lid fragment
• Figure 20 - Approximate location of the Ram Hormuz burial chamber (delimited by black rectangle) on the left bank of the Ala River
• Figure 23 - Metal vessels placed between the West and East Coffins in the Ram Hormuz tomb chamber
• Figure 24 - Metal vessels deposited on the Ram Hormuz tomb chamber floor between the two coffins
• Figure 25 - Plan of the Zincirli palace indicating Room L6 where the bronze 'bathtub' was found
• Figure 26 - Bronze 'bathtub' from Zincirli (
• Figure 27 - Zincirli bronze 'bathtub' in its present fragmentary state
• Figure 28 - One of the Zincirli bronze 'bathtub' handles with rosette bases (after Jendritzki and Martin 2001: Abb. 15).
• Figure 29 - Bronze 'bathtub' said to be from Dailaman-Amlash, with side-strip detail
• Figure 30 - Bronze 'bathtub' said to be from eastern Anatolia
• Figure 31 - 'Ziwiye' side-strip fragment
• Figure 32 - 'Ziwiye' rim fragment.
• Figure 33 - Watercolour painting of the Persian 'princess' bronze coffin burial from Susa
• Figure 35 - Ur PG1 with aspects of manufacture indicated
• Figure 36 - Section of the Zincirli 'bathtub' showing zig-zagged rivet arrangement
• Figure 37 - Top section of the Arjan coffin showing two rows of zig-zagged rivets attaching the rim and three rivets fixing the vertical handle bases in place
• Figure 38 - Ur PG1 coffin lower section showing the use of two rows of zig-zagged rivets to attach the base (image courtesy of J. Álvarez-Mon 2011).
• Figure 39 - Section of the Zincirli 'bathtub' showing the larger setting heads on the inner surface and smaller closing heads on the outer surface (after Jendritzki and Martin 2001: Abb. 7).
• Figure 40 - Bronze 'bathtub' handles. Top left: Ur PG1 coffin (image courtesy of J. Álvarez-Mon 2011)
• top right: Arjan coffin (after Álvarez-Mon 2010: Pl. 8)
• bottom left and right: Zincirli coffin (after Andrae and Von Luschan 1943: Taf. 57c-d).
• Figure 41 - Arjan coffin bronze lid fragment (image courtesy of J. Álvarez-Mon 2011).
• Figure 42 - Wall relief in Room 28 of Sennacherib's Southwest Palace at Nineveh depicting two scribes recording tribute or booty (after Matthiae 1998: Pg. 99).
• Chapter 2
• Mortuary Remains of Mesopotamia and Elam
• 2.1. Introduction
• 2.2. Babylonia
• 2.2.1. Burial Typology
• 2.2.2. Grave Goods
• 2.2.3. Burial Location
• 2.2.4. Commentary
• 2.3. Assyria
• 2.3.1. Burial Typology
• 2.3.2. Grave Goods
• 2.3.3. Burial Location
• 2.3.4. Commentary
• 2.4. Elam
• 2.4.1. Burial Typology
• 2.4.2. Grave Goods
• 2.4.3. Burial Location
• 2.4.4. Commentary
• 2.5. Summary Notes
• 2.5.1. Summarising the Mortuary Remains of Babylonia, Assyria and Elam
• 2.5.2. Notes on Clay U-shape 'Bathtub' Coffins in Assyria, Babylonia and Elam.
• Figure 43 - Table showing variances in nomenclature used for referring to U-shape coffins, oval coffins and single pot burials.
• Figure 44 - Burial types (not to scale): a. tomb chamber (after Reuther 1926: Taf. 51-52) b. earth/pit (after Boehmer, Pedde and Salje 1995: Taf. 49) c. sherd (after Boehmer, Pedde and Salje 1995: Taf. 51).
• Figure 45 - Single pot burials (not to scale): a. ring-base pot
• b. ring-base pot covered with a sherd
• c. ring-base pot covered with a flat-bottomed bowl
• d. flat-bottomed pot covered with a flat-bottomed bowl
• e. round-bottomed pot with perforation
• f.
• Figure 46 - Double-pot burials (not to scale): a. two ring-base pots
• b. one ring-base and one round-bottomed pot with a perforation
• c. one ring-base and one plain round-bottomed pot
• d. two round-bottomed pots with perforation
• e. one round-bottomed pot
• Figure 47 - Jar burials (not to scale): a. ring-base jar
• b. ovoid jar
• c. ovoid jar with neck removed
• d. ovoid jar with neck removed covered with a sherd
• e. ovoid jar with neck removed and flat-bottomed bowl
• f. pot and jar
• Figure 48 - Burial types (not to scale): a. bowl
• b. 'bathtub' bowl
• c. oval coffin (after Reuther 1926: Taf. 62, 63 and 78)
• d. 'bathtub' coffin (after Boehmer, Pedde and Salje 1995: Taf. 184).
• Figure 49 - Burial types (not to scale): a. brick wall cavity (after Hauser 2012: Abb. C - 28)
• b. brick (after Haller 1954: Abb. 20)
• c. triple pot grave (after Hauser 2012: Abb. D - 40f).
• Figure 50 - Burial types (not to scale): a. half-pot composite (after Hauser 2012: Abb. D - 36l and D - 35f)
• b. straight-walled coffin with rounded ends (after Haller 1954: Abb. 101)
• c. rectangular coffin (after Haller 1954: Abb. 102a)
• d. trough or tub.
• Figure 51 - Burial types (not to scale): a-d. two-part coffins in four variations (after Haller 1954: Abb. 81, 82, 85a, 87)
• e. composite grave (after Haller 1954: Abb. 119a, Taf. 19).
• Figure 52 - Plan of the kings' tombs under the Old Palace at Ashur (after Haller 1954: Abb. 186) and stone sarcophagus of Shamshi-Adad V (Tomb II) at Ashur (after Andrae 1938: Taf. 66).
• Figure 53 - Humaidat tomb chamber. Top left: stone sarcophagus
• top right: tomb chamber plan
• centre left: terracotta U-shape coffin with lid
• centre right: double stone slab doors on pivots separating the antechamber and main chamber
• bottom: large stora
• Figure 54 - Left: clay coffin with moulded rope-like band from Susa (image from the archives of Roland de Mecquenem http://www.mom.fr/mecquenem/photo/afficher/id/416, accessed 19 July 2012)
• right: line drawings of coffins from Babylon graves 129 (top) an
• Figure 55 - Table of clay U-shape 'bathtub' coffins.
• Figure 56 - Double-handled 'coffin' from Alaca Höyük (after Koşay and Akok 1966: Lev. 7 e253).
• Chapter 3
• Death, the Afterlife and Funerary Ritual in Mesopotamia and Elam
• 3.1. Introduction
• 3.2. Death, the Afterlife and Funerary Ritual in Mesopotamia
• 3.2.1. Death and the Afterlife
• 3.2.2. The Funeral
• 3.2.3. Ongoing Care for the Dead
• 3.3. Death, the Afterlife and Funerary Ritual in Elam
• 3.4. Bronze 'Bathtub' Coffin Burials in the Context of Death, the Afterlife and Funerary Ritual
• Figure 57 - Left: terracotta 'feeding tube' of Tomb II in the Northwest Palace at Nimrud
• Chapter 4
• Ideological Aspects of the Bronze 'Bathtub' Burials
• 4.1. Introduction
• 4.2. Location, Orientation and Body Arrangement
• 4.2.1. Location
• 4.2.2. Orientation and Body Arrangement
• 4.3. Form, Material and Iconography of the Bronze 'Bathtub' Coffins
• 4.3.1. Form
• 4.3.2. Material.
• 4.3.3. Iconography.