Bones of a Hundred Infants Found

In Ashkelon Sewer:

- Patricia Smith and Gila Kahila,

Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Biblical Archaeology Review:

"Excavation of the Roman-Byzantine sewer system assiciated with the

bathhouse at Ashkelon revealed the skeletons of nearly 100 infants.

They were found mixed in with the garbage more commonly associated

wit such contexts-broken potsherds, animal bones, murex shells and

odd coins. Most of the infant bones were intact, and all parts of

the skeleton were represented. Since infant bones are fragile,

they tend to fragment when distrubed or moved for secondary burial.

the good condition of the infant bones at Ashkelon indicate to us

tht the infants had been tossed onto the drain soon after death

with the soft tissues intact. This manner of disposal of the

infants indicates a rather callous attitude, suggesting that these

might represent abortions or infanticide, rather than death from

natural causes.

We focused closely on the age range of the infants as one

indication of the cause of death. the rationale for using age

range as an indicator of the cuase of death is that perinatal death

in all populations studied shows a comparable pattern of mortality.

There is a high rate of mortality in the first month of life that

gradually decreases over the first year, followed by a second peak

at weaning. If the drain served as a mass grave following some

catastrophe, or was the normal way of disposing of infants who died

when young and were not accorded full burial rites, then we should

expect some variability in the age of death of the infants in the

drain. If on the other hand, these infant skeletons were the

result of infanticide practiced immediately after birth, all would

be of the same age.

Examination of the Ashkelon sample showed that all the infants were

approximately the same size and with the same degree of dental

development. Both bone size and dental development were equivalent

to that of newborn infants. Moreover, forensic tests showed no

neonatal lines in the teeth. These are considered evidence of

survival of more than three days after birth. Their absence in the

Ashkelon infants reinforces the hypothesis of death at birth.

A sudden increase in the number of deaths which would result in

emergency burial measures, such as have been documented following

eqidemics, warfare or famine, would affect children of all ages.

This does not apply to the skeletons found in the Ashkelon sewer,

where only newborns were found. Infanticide in the past (as at

present) was (and is) usually carried out immediately after birth,

before the development of mother-infant bonding. Child sacrifices,

on the other hand, were usually made periodically, so that infants

of different ages were sacrificed. While it is conceivable that

the infants found in the drain were stillborn, their number, age

and condition strongly suggest that they were killed and thrown

into the drain immediately after birth."

.. Retyped by compliments of The Shepherd's Flock BBS

Irvine California

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