Defleshed burials, or rather interments, sometimes using ossuaries, are found throughout the world, here and there, but preservation/veneration of the cranium seems to have been the important part. If memory serves, the practice as found in the excavation of Catal Huyuk and Jericho. It could be motivated by a desire or need to preserve the identity of the deceased.
Among Romans (and of course, the Vikings), cremation was also commonplace. Excarnation is still practiced by Zoroastrians in India, and was practiced (as "burials in the air") by some Precolumbian North American tribes.
This was Jerusalem. Romans and their ancestors were left after the formation of the Church during Constantine reign. No doubt, the monasteries had been occupied off and on since then. Jericho was more of a crossroads, so more civilizations have remnants there.