Bronze ‘Bathtub’ Coffins In the Context of 8th-6th Century BC Babylonian, Assyrian and Elamite Funerary Practices

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.

This volume is dedicated to a small number of unique bronze ‘bathtub’ coffins found in 8th–6th century BC Babylonian, Assyrian and Elamite burial contexts. Usually treated as an incidental aspect of the burial process, these fascinating burial receptacles have until now garnered little in the way of academic interest. Here the author takes the opportunity to further explore the coffins, drawing together the widely dispersed information on their archaeological contexts, investigating the method and place of their manufacture, and establishing a possible date range for their production and use. To progress towards an understanding of the bronze ‘bathtub’ coffin burials within the broader context of regional funerary practices, they are then incorporated into an analysis of Neo-Babylonian, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Elamite funerary ritual and belief. Finally the coffins are placed within the historical framework of these regions’ socio-political interaction in an attempt to establish whether they represent a shared funerary tradition. Underpinning this study is the principle that mortuary evidence is the product of intentional behaviour; that the bronze ‘bathtub’ coffins represent a deliberate choice by the burying group and each would have featured in an emotionally and symbolically charged burial act.