2011/08/01 by Patricia Smith, Gal Avishai, Joseph A. Greene +1 · 2 citations
Arts and Humanities · Medicine · #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Ancient Egypt and Archaeology #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Sacrifice #Greeks #Argument (complex analysis) #Ancient history #History #Archaeology #Medicine
paper · doi:10.1017/s0003598x00068368
openalex publication_date 2011/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/08
The Greeks and Romans reproached the Phoenicians for the sacrifice of infants, and the excavation of cremated infants at ‘Tophets’ (named after the sacrificial site in Jerusalem mentioned in the Bible) seems to bear this out. However, the argument for infant sacrifice depends largely on a skewed age profile, and age is not easy to determine. The authors approach this problem with a battery of new techniques, showing that in the Tophet of Carthage the majority of the infants died between one and one and a half months. Sacrifice was thus very probable.