By Bashar Mustafa, Esquivel, F.J. and Esquivel, J.A.
ABSTRACT
In this paper we statistically analyze, and interpret anthropoid Phoenician sarcophagi found on the Syrian
coast (archaeological site of Amrīt), from an archaeological perspective. All sarcophagi (11 complete and 8
damaged) under the study are dated between the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. We must highlight how
previous scholars established periods of use as well as the influence of these funeral artifacts, viewing them
purely as works of art. The main goal of this research is to study the sarcophagi from an archaeological
perspective with reference to the quantitative data taken from each piece. The data set which we analyze is
composed of the dimensional components of twenty-two sarcophagi. The challenge to be overcome in the
analysis of this data set is the state of the sarcophagi themselves; half of them are damaged to an extent that
direct measurements are impossible. Thus, a statistical analysis is necessarily based on estimates of original
measurements of undamaged parts of those sarcophagi. Accordingly, we carried out an analysis of the
dependence between the dimensional components of the complete, relatively undamaged sarcophagi. Given
the anthropomorphic morphology of sarcophagi, the length and width present a significant linear
relationship, whereas there is no relationship between length and height.
