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A repository was the preferred method of storing the bones of deceased family members until the practice of placing remains in ossuaries arose in the first century B.C.E. Sometimes the rock-carved pits were located directly beneath the rock-carved benches that first held the bodies, as at Ketef Hinnom. After a period of time, the bones would be removed from the bench and placed in the charnel pit, allowing the bench to be reused. Two archaeologists are shown peering into the charnel pit at the Ecole Biblique tombs.