06_An_Cranz_586-598_coopia_586-598 10/12/15 10:35 Pagina 591 591 RITUAL ELEMENTS IN ZECHARIAH’S VISION OF THE WOMAN 591 that of the dead person is placed in a vessel of everyday usage referred to as a laḫannu-vessel 22. The latter is then buried in a vault chamber 23: 1. Be[l…] 2. A figurine of the dead man [to god … ] 3. Before him you place the figurines of the living man […] 4. The figurine of the living man to an ad[agurru vessel you tran]sfer. The figurine of the dead man you [place] into a laḫ[annu vessel] 5. The figurine of the dead man, the grave you open, you bury it; you conjure it by the zipadû-formula. This ritual requires the recitation of an incantation referred to as zi- padû-formula which addresses heaven and earth. Incantations of this type often invoke Marduk and Šamaš and are used to alleviate a variety of ail- ments. In contrast to the previous exorcism, the figurine is not placed in a horn, but in a laḫannu vessel which is also used as a drinking vessel, a beer vat, or a receptacle for mixing medicine 24. The next ritual to be discussed, BAM 323, was found in Assur 25. This text provides an additional instance in which the figurine of a ghost, demon or any type of evil is placed in a vessel and buried. The vessel in this case is referred to as a karpatu-vessel — a receptacle that is used for storage as well as a measuring unit 26: 36. [You] have him speak thus. Into the karpatu- vessel you place it and you bind it by an oath. 37. [by an oath by the earth you are bound,] by an oath by the sky you are bound, by the oath by Šamaš you are bound. Then you close the opening (of the vessel). 38. […] in the deserted wasteland you bury it. Since the rituals presented so far are primarily meant to counteract the activity of the dead, it might be argued that the burial in vessels is the reenactment of proper funeral rites which the deceased person had been denied 27. Yet, the burial in a laḫannu-vessel is also prescribed against a baby-killing demon, as described in a late Babylonian text from Uruk 22 For references, see CAD L, 39-40. 23 For transliteration and translation, see G. CASTELLINO, “Rituals and Prayers against Appearing Ghosts”, Or 24 (1955) 240-274, here 264-267. 24 Cf. CAD K, 219-221. 25 SCURLOCK, Magico-Medical Means, 2. 26 The transliteration and translation are based on SCURLOCK, Magico- Medical Means, 530-535, text 226 – with occasional slight modifications. 27 SCURLOCK, Magico-Medical Means, 51.