What are Ossuaries?and what were they used for?

Question

What are Ossuaries?and what were they used for?

Answer 1

They are stone (lime or sandstone) boxes that the Hebrews put the bones of their dead into - picture coffin.  Basically the body would be laid out to decompose and then the remains would be put in a box.

Answer 2

traps for catching ostriches.

Answer 3

the understanding I have gotten about it is that basically...

someone died. they were frequently entombed in a cave, or buried.

well, space was frequently very tight...  so a while later, after there wasn't really much of anything left but bones,  the bones were collected and put into the more compact ossuaries. I think I heard somewhere that sometimes the ossuaries were like... one family having one for a while, with the bones of that family's ancestors being put in it.

could be wrong though.  

Answer 4

burial boxes in which bones are placed.

Answer 5

Ossuaries are limestone boxes that bones are placed into after the tissues and organ have completely decomposed.

In the Second Temple Period of Judaism, Ossuaries were one of the primary forms of burial for religious Jews.  The body would be placed into a tomb - usually cut into the limestone bedrock of the region - where it would be laid out on a shelf.  The body would be treated with oils, resins, perfumes, and herbs as well as wrapped in some sort of cloth covering to hold it together as it decayed.  

Burials according to Torah and Tradition (Oral Torah) had to occur within 24 hours of death; the body was put within the tomb as soon as possible.  For one year the tomb was sealed, and a year later, on the anniversary of the death, the tomb would be opened. The body would have completely decomposed by that time, leaving behind only the bones which would be disarticulated, but held within the cloth shroud.

The bones would be then moved to the ossuary; a single ossuary would often hold multiple individuals, often from the same family.

Answer 6

An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains.

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