4.5.1. Onomastic Data Relating to the Ancestors

The linguistic construction that refers to an individual as the "son of X" or to a group as the "sons of X" is common in the Semitic languages. In the case of an individual, the second part of the construction represented by the "X" is normally that person's father. In the case of a group, the second part of the construction is normally the name of a real or fictive ancestor to which the group traces its roots (Routledge 2004, p. 126). The ways in which the Ammonites are named, both from within and without43, follows this model and suggests that "Ammon" is to be taken as the name of the eponymous ancestor of the Ammonites (Hübner 1992, p. 244). In addition to "Ammon" being in the

<sup>42</sup> For recent discussion and bibliography see (Albertz and Schmitt 2012, chp. 5 and 7; Hays 2015; Herrmann and Schloen 2014; Porter and Boutin 2014; Stavrakopoulou 2010, pp. 1–28). Several earlier treatments of the dead and relations with them present different assessments of what the material and textual evidence can tell us are (Bloch-Smith 1992; Schmidt 1996; Van der Toorn 1996b, pp. 42–65, 151–77, 206–35).

<sup>43</sup> The Tall Siran Bottle Inscription (*CAI*, no. 78) mentions three successive kings of the Ammonites all designated as mlk bn ގmn, "king of the sons of Ammon." In the cognate Hebrew language, the Hebrew Bible characteristically refers to the Ammonites as bny ގmn, "the sons of Ammon," (e.g., Genesis 19:38, Joshua 12:2), and less often as "Ammon" (e.g., 1 Samuel 11:11). In its records of the interactions with its imperial subjects, the Neo-Assyrian Empire refers to the Ammonites as "the house of Ammon," "the sons of Ammon," or simply "Ammon" (Tyson 2014, pp. 70–79).

place of the eponymous ancestor in the ethnonym "the sons of Ammon," the name itself has ancestral overtones. This is because the name is built on the Semitic root ގ*m*(*m*) that has to do with clan or tribal relationships, particularly those on the paternal side. Depending on its use, it can refer to a paternal uncle, a paternal clan, more generically a kinsman, and in the plural, to groups of people (*HALOT*, pp. 837–38).44 It may be coincidence that the eponymous ancestor of the Ammonites has a name with ancestral overtones, for ގ*m*(*m*) is a productive noun in the West Semitic onomasticon (Jackson 1983, p. 515; Landes 1956, pp. 3–12). Nonetheless, one cannot help but wonder whether the eponymous ancestor was named with ancestral language for a particular purpose that is no longer discernable.

In addition to the use of ގ*m*(*m*) in the tribal name of the sons of Ammon, it also appears in the names of two Ammonite kings named ގ*mndb*, "Amminadab," who are mentioned on the Tall Siran Bottle (*CAI*, no. 78) in a list of three kings, where the grandfather and grandson have the same name. A seal also bears the name Amminadab and most likely corresponds to the grandfather listed on the Tall Siran Bottle (*CAI*, no. 40).45 The name Amminadab, which appears in other Semitic languages as well, can be translated as "My kinsman is noble."46

Several other Ammonite inscriptions contain kinship elements that add to the impression that deceased ancestors played a role in Ammonite understanding of the non-physical world. These include the following:


<sup>44</sup> It is possible that ގ*m(m)* could be the name of a god ގAmm. A lunar deity named ގAmm is known from South Arabian inscriptions from Qataban (in modern Yemen), but it is not clear that ގAmm was a deity known in the West Semitic sphere of which Ammon was a part (Hübner 1992, p. 243, n. 95; Seow 1999). It is also possible that it is an epithet of a deity—perhaps ގEl or Milkom—who is thus referred to with kinship terminology. This use of ގ*m(m)* is possible for a name such as ގ*elî ˘* ގ*am¯* , "Eliam," which appears in the Hebrew Bible (2 Samuel 11:3) and can be translated as "My god is a kinsman" (Jackson 1983, p. 510), rather than "My god is ގAmm." A similar name occurs on a non-provenanced seal thought to be Ammonite (Ø*CAI*, no. 10). However, gods are not normally referred to with kinship epithets other than ގb, "father" (Van der Toorn 1996a). Another issue with the name Ammon is understanding the morphology of the word (Hübner 1992, p. 243, n. 95). The difficulty stems from the *-n* ending, which can be understood as a diminutive ending, thus yielding something like, "little uncle" (*HALOT*, p. 843). The *-n* ending can also function as an adjectival ending (*GKC* § 86f), which would hypothetically mean something like "ancestral." It can also be understood as a hypocoristic ending that replaces the theophoric element so common in Semitic names (Hübner 1992, p. 243, n. 95; Landes 1956, pp. 9–12). On this latter understanding, the name would have either asserted that a particular deity was a kinsman, or it would have ascribed some attribute or action to a deceased kinsman. *GKC* = Kautzsch, Emil, ed. 1910. *Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar*, 2nd ed. Translated by Arthur E. Cowley. Oxford: Clarendon. *HALOT* = Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner, and Johann Jakob Stamm. 2001. *The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament*. Study ed. Translated and edited under the supervision of M. E. J. Richardason. Leiden: Brill.

<sup>45</sup> This name also appears in a seventh century BCE Assyrian inscription from the reign of Ashurbanipal, probably referring to the earliest of the three kings mentioned on this inscription. In the Assyrian inscription, which uses a syllabic script, the name appears as <sup>m</sup>*am-mi-na-ad-bi* LUGAL kur*b¯ıt am-ma-na*, "Amminadab, king (of the land) of the house of Ammon" (Borger 1996, pp. 19, 212). A non-provenanced seal thought to be Ammonite also contains the name Amminadab (Ø*CAI*, no. 17).

<sup>46</sup> For cognate names see (Jackson 1983, p. 515).

<sup>47</sup> Several non-provenanced inscriptions that are possibly Ammonite include the noun for father in names. These include ގ*byb*ގ*l*, "My father is Baގal" (Ø*CAI*, no. 1); ގ*b*ގ*l*, "My father rises" (Ø*CAI*, no. 22a); ގ*byh. <sup>y</sup>*, "My father is alive," or "The father has preserved" (Ø*CAI*, no. 23); *šm*ގ*b*, "The (divine) name is father" (Ø*CAI*, no. 35); ގ*b*ގ," Father" or "Father is (ގEl)" (Ø*CAI*, no. 37a); ގ*bndb*, "My father is noble" (Ø*CAI*, no. 56); ގ*h.*ގ*b*, "The brother/kinsman is father" (Ø*CAI*, nos. 98, 188, 216); ގ*bt.l*, "My father is dew" (Ø*CAI*, no. 143a); ގ*b*ގ*dn* "My father has granted fertility" (Ø*CAI*, no. 152); ގ*b*, "Father" (Ø*CAI*, no. 180); ގ*h. <sup>t</sup>*ގ*b*, "Sister of (my) father" (Ø*CAI*, nos. 182); ގ*bh*, "Father" (Ø*CAI*, no. 205).

4. *h. m*, "father-in-law"—This element appears in the name *h. mšgb*, which can be translated as "My father-in-law is exalted" (*CAI*, no. 137:7; Jackson 1983, p. 512; Cross 2003, p. 83, with literature).<sup>48</sup>

It is not surprising that Ammonite names accord kin relations a place of honor, as is the case for the societies throughout the ancient Near East. Perhaps unique in this respect is the "sons of Ammon" tribal name, which traces tribal identity to an eponymous ancestor whose name itself has ancestral connotations.

#### 4.5.2. Grave Goods and the Ancestors

A variety of tombs and one cemetery have been excavated in and around Amman, providing a glimpse into Ammonite funerary and mortuary practice in the Iron Age II. Tombs are normally cut into the rock or used natural caves. In the case of Tall al-Mazar Cemetery A, burials are in individual pits. The earlier burials, dating to the 11th eleventh through ninth c. BCE, tend to use coffins of some sort—whether anthropoid or large jars—and were buried with some pottery, jewelry, and an occasional seal. Burials from the eighth c. BCE through the Persian period do not use coffins. Grave goods from these tombs include a wide variety of ceramic vessels (jugs, bowls, flasks, decanters, tripod cups, chalices, lamps, juglets, painted bottles, and a few Assyrian style vessels), jewelry, and other metal items (kohl sticks, fibulae, bracelets, anklets, rings, earrings, mirrors, seals, arrowheads, knife blades, daggers, swords), figurines (female tambourine type, horse and rider, and one "hermaphrodite" in Amman Tomb C), a model shrine (Amman Tomb E), a bronze censer (at Umm Udayna), and other high status or unusual items (Mediterranean shells, Assyrian style pottery, seals, and items made of glass most likely imported from the Aegean.<sup>49</sup>

From this brief review, it is clear that the tombs in the vicinity of Amman represent what must have been the wealthier class. The much poorer individual burials at Tall al-Mazar Cemetery A highlight the wealth of the tombs found closer to Amman (Yassine 1984, 1999). Second, and more important for a study of beliefs about and practices related to the dead, is that the assemblage of ceramic vessels (especially tripod cups, chalices, juglets, and lamps), figurines, as well as the high status or unusual finds, is similar to that which Daviau isolates as relating to the domestic cult (Daviau 2001; on which see below § 4.2.1). The question then is, what can we say about the religious aspects of these burials?

Some of the items found in the tombs, such as kohl sticks, jewelry, and seals, are personal items that represented the identity of the person interred rather than any specific religious practice. On the other hand, the number of pottery vessels generally associated with eating and drinking (but not storage) point to a nourishment of the deceased in their ongoing existence—whatever it was conceived to be. Lamps suggest the presence of the living in the tombs on some occasion. Some items were possibly used for fumigation (incense burners, and possibly tripod cups). Seals found in tombs are often thought of in functional categories, but they might also have served apotropaic purposes. Figurines and model shrines50 were probably used in some type of ritual practice that was related to the dead, but they are also found in non-mortuary contexts, suggesting that there was a range of uses for these objects. The form that such rituals took and the beliefs that they might imply are difficult to pinpoint. Nonetheless, it is reasonable to assume that such rituals were understood to have salutary effects upon the dead, as well as on relationships between the dead and the living.

At a minimum, it seems that the dead were understood to have a continued existence and need of sustenance that the living could provide. Commemorative acts were also common (Albertz and

<sup>48</sup> Cf. Ø*CAI*, no. 9, which contains the feminine name ގ*lšgb*, "ގEl is exalted." Here, the theophoric element is clearly a deity, and uses the same predicate. For more on this name and inscription, see (Hübner 1992, p. 69; Jackson 1983, p. 511). Ø*CAI*,

no. 215:1 uses the *h. <sup>m</sup>* element in the name *h. mdn*, "My father-in-law is judge." <sup>49</sup> For a summary of the tombs, see (Tyson 2014, pp. 23–26, 30, 39–45, with literature).

<sup>50</sup> For recent discussion of figurines and some of their possible uses, see (Darby 2014). For the collection and analysis of the Iron Age model shrines, see (Daviau 2008).

Schmitt 2012, pp. 455–69; Bloch-Smith 1992, pp. 122–26; Schmidt 1996, p. 275). A cult of the dead or cult of the royal ancestors has been assumed for Ammon, in part based on discussions of other areas in the Levant (Hübner 1992, p. 279; Israel 1990, pp. 323–24). Certainly, the pottery related to food, figurines, and items related to incense are suggestive of rituals involving eating. Whether the tomb assemblages imply worship, placation, or other forms of manipulation of the dead is more difficult to know. If we take the definition of religion presented at the beginning of this paper as the starting point, then a distinction between the feeding and care of, or the deification and worship of ancestors becomes less important for the bigger picture. The extant material remains in tombs suggest that the dead in Ammon fall in the category of nonphysical agents (rather than being non-existent), and that there were beliefs and ritual practices associated with them, even if we cannot fully reconstruct them.

## **5. Cultic Space**

For the purposes of this paper, I divide spaces used for relating to the nonphysical world into two broad categories: public cultic space and private or domestic cultic space. By the term "public cultic space" I mean only that the space seems to be intended to be used by a group that is most likely larger than a single family. A public cultic space is thus not contained within a domestic space even if it is physically built next to domestic buildings. By "private or domestic cultic space", I designate those spaces which appear to have some cultic or religious significance, but which are contained within a house, or in the case of tombs, relate to individuals or individual families. These are pragmatic distinctions used in part because of the dearth of remains and their state of preservation that does not allow for more refined analyses.
