Anthropoid Sarcophagi

Anthropoid Sarcophagi, that is, human-shaped burial containers, in this case made out of pottery. From the Cemetery at Deir el-Balah, late bronze period: 14th-13th century B.C.E. These sarcophagi show Egyptian influence. Palestine was largely controlled by Egypt in the Late Bronze age. Egyptian influence weakened in the thirteenth century allowing for both Israelites and Philistines to enter the land.

Jerusalem, Israel Museum