Tomb 90 Beth Shan dates to the late thirteenth and early twelfth century B.C.E. and is one of the richest and most interesting burials from this region. Although disturbed probably in the Roman period, this anthropoid coffin burial contains a fascinating collection of artifacts that attest to the cosmopolitan nature of the culture of Beth Shan at the end of the Bronze Age. What follows is a hypothetical description of the burial practices in this tomb. This description is based on interpretation of the material and comparing the remains with other less disturbed or undisturbed burials at Deir el-Balah, Tell el-Farah S and Tell es-Sa'idiyeh. Consider the description and try to deduce the evidence that seems sensible to you from that which is more problematic.
RECONSTRUCTING THE PRACTICE IN TOMB 90 BETH SHAN: The tomb contained two or three coffin burials. Such undisturbed burials from Deir el-Balah, for example, contained one to two adults lying in the supine position fully extended so that the maximum number of deceased in the tomb probably does not exceed eight. It does not appear that there is any evidence of mummification from that site, nor this one, though two contemporary burials from Tell es-Sa'idiyeh were mummified with bitumen.
The sex of deceased in Tomb 90 can perhaps be determined by the types of grave goods if these burials are consistent with other contemporary burials in their choices of artifacts. The numerous weapons and the general lack of beads may indicate that the deceased were adult males. Weapons are normally associated with adult male burials, and beads with adult female and child burials. As for the other grave goods, they seem to reflect the few contemporary "rich" burials. A wine set, bronze lamp, game boards and other ivory works are consistent with burials like Deir el-Balah and Tomb 101 Tell es-Sa'idiyeh. The presence of a shawabti is a unique egyptian or egyptianize feature rarely found in other rich burials from elsewhere in Palestine. The gold foil from the tomb also may suggest a Aegean practice, sealing the lips of the deceased with gold, although gold foil is also sown into headdresses in the Aegean world as well as used in headbands in Late Bronze Palestine. In fact, one might want to compare the foil to the frontlets on the anthropoid coffin lids.
Who is buried in the coffins in Tomb 90 and the other Beth Shan tombs is a speculative wonder that has tantalized archaeologists since the discovery of these burials. The coffin lids at Beth Shan can be classified into two groups according to style, naturalistic and grotesque. Since Vincent first pointed this out, archaeologists have tried to link the grotesque coffins to the Philistines depicted on Ramesis III's mortuary temple, Medinet Habu. Others have linked the burials to Canaanites, Shasu group and even Egyptians.
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