Hama I.2: Bronze Age Graves in Hama and its Neighbourhood: Fouilles et recherches de la Fondation Carlsberg 1931-1938 (Monographs of the National Museum)

This is the last volume in the series of reports from the Danish excavations (1931-1938) on the ancient Tall of the important Syrian site and town of Hama. In the earliest periods of the city's existence, the inhabitants of Hama buried their dead on the mound itself, but in the Bronze Age they started burying in rock cut graves at the foot of the Tall, and several of these graves were registered by the Danish expedition. As the graves mostly lay underneath modern dwellings, the circumstances were far from optimal and it was at first decided not to include the graves in the final report. Nevertheless, as this material fills a gap in our knowledge about Hama, the Bronze Age and the burial customs of the area, it has now been decided to publish the finds as well as plans of the graves. The burial finds consist of pottery and terracotta figurines, mostly female, and probably with a connotation of fertility. Furthermore, the graves held weapons and garment pins. Professor Riis took part of the Hama excavations as a young student and he describes the circumstances of the findings.