After preparation, the body was covered for burial. Textiles decay easily, so archaeology preserves far fewer burial cloths than stone tombs or ossuaries.
The New Testament nevertheless gives clear evidence that cloth formed part of first-century Jewish burial practice.
Jewish burial did not normally require an elaborate permanent coffin. A prepared and wrapped body could be carried to a tomb and placed on a bench or within a burial niche.
Wrapping protected and covered the body while it was carried and placed in the tomb. Families used materials available to them, and wealth would have influenced their quality.
Textiles rarely survive in the archaeological record, although exceptional discoveries demonstrate their use. The stone architecture of tombs survives much more readily than the perishable materials placed inside them.
The Gospels describe Lazarus coming from his tomb still bound with burial cloths. They also describe Jesus being wrapped in linen for burial, making burial textiles one of the better-attested elements of the Gospel accounts.
Scripture treats covering and burial of the dead as part of respectful treatment. Later Jewish traditions provide further evidence for simple burial garments.
John 11 describes Lazarus with cloth around his hands and feet and another cloth around his face. The burial narratives of Jesus likewise emphasize linen.
Cloth was used in first-century Jewish burial, although surviving evidence does not establish one universal wrapping technique.
Popular images sometimes depict bodies wrapped like Egyptian mummies. The evidence does not require such a reconstruction, and burial wrapping probably varied.
Understanding the practical use of burial cloth makes the Gospel descriptions of Lazarus and the empty tomb easier to visualize.