the case of an ordinary burial,” writes Mr. King, “when a corpse was laid in a grave, it had been the custom for the presiding priest to demand as a fee for himself seven urns of wine or strong drink, four hundred and twenty loaves of bread, one hundred and twenty measures of corn, a garment, a kid, a bed, and a seat.”  The reformer reduced the perquisites to “three urns of wine, eighty loaves of bread, a bed, and a kid, while the fee of his (the priest’s) assistant was cut down from sixty to thirty measures of corn".[252]

The conservative element in Babylonian religion is reflected by the burial customs.  These did not change greatly after the Neolithic period.  Prehistoric Sumerian graves resemble closely those of pre-Dynastic Egypt.  The bodies of the dead were laid on their sides in crouching posture, with a “beaker”, or “drinking cup” urn, beside the right hand.  Other vessels were placed near the head.  In this connection it may be noted that the magic food prepared for Gilgamesh by Pir-napishtim’s wife, when he lay asleep, was also placed near his head.

The corpse was always decked with various ornaments, including rings, necklaces, and armlets.  As has been indicated, these were worn by the living as charms, and, no doubt, they served the same purpose for the dead.  This charm-wearing custom was condemned by the Hebrew teachers.  On one occasion Jacob commanded his household to “put away the strange gods which were in their hand, and all the ear-rings which were in their ears; and Jacob buried them under the oak which was by Shechem".[253] To Jacob, personal ornaments had quite evidently an idolatrous significance.

“A very typical class of grave furniture”, writes Mr. King, “consisted of palettes, or colour dishes, made of alabaster, often of graceful shape, and sometimes standing on four feet....  There is no doubt as to their use, for colour still remains in many of them, generally black and yellow, but sometimes a light rose and light green.”  Palettes for face paint have also been found in many early Egyptian graves.

The gods had their faces painted like the living and the dead and were similarly adorned with charms.  In the course of the daily service in the Egyptian temples an important ceremony was “dressing the god with white, green, bright-red, and dark-red sashes, and supplying two kinds of ointment and black and green eye paint".[254] In the word-picture of the Aryo-Indian Varuna’s heaven in the Mahabharata the deity is depicted “attired in celestial robes and decked with celestial ornaments and jewels”.  His attendants, the Adityas, appear “adorned with celestial garlands and perfumed with celestial scents and besmeared with paste of celestial fragrance".[255] Apparently the “paste”, like the face paint of the Babylonians and Egyptians, had protective qualities.  The Picts of Scotland may have similarly painted themselves to charm their bodies against magical influences and the weapons of their enemies.  A painted man was probably regarded as one who was likely to have good luck, being guarded against bad luck.