BOUND FOR HEAVEN

During excavations of a Byzantine monastery in 2017 just north of Jerusalem's Old City, a team led by Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists Zubair 'Adawi and Kfir Arbiv discovered an unusual burial in a crypt beneath the altar of the complex's church.

- BENJAMIN LEONARD

The rock-cut tomb contained the remains of a person whose limbs had been bound with iron rings. Some dozen rings were wrapped around each of the individual's arms, 10 on each leg, and four around the neck. Attached to the rings were iron plates that lay on the deceased's stomach. This form of punishment was self-inflicted and was a common practice among Christian ascetic monks, who believed bodily affliction could allow them to attain a higher degree of spirituality. "From Byzantine written sources, we know that this phenom