Le sepolture infantili e di subadulti di età arcaica di Veio e Roma: ritualità funeraria e dinamiche storiche

This paper aims to present the panorama of the infants’ and subadults’ burials in the archaic and classical period, in the territories of the neighbouring cities of Veii and Rome. The first paragraph presents the aspects that characterise the funerary landscapes of Veii and Rome, highlighting both the common features, and the specificities that distinguish them. The most evident characteristic, which is found in an area that crosses the borders of the two cities, assuming a sub-regional dimension, is the sudden decrease, from the mid-sixth century BC, in the number and quality of grave goods. Cremation is preferred in Veii’s burials, keeping the ashes in ollas placed in a specific tomb structure (so-called “tomba a tramite”) while in Rome inhumation and cremation seem to coexist. The number of grave goods seems to increase again at the end of the fifth century, but in a new miniaturised form. In Rome, the funeral practice is regulated by the Laws of the Twelve Tables. In Veii, in the absence of direct sources, a sort of similar laws is hypothised. The motivations underlying these provisions seem to lie in the desire to demonstrate a “ceremonial austerity”, a symptom of the radical modification of the ideology behind the funerary traditions of the two cities. The second paragraph presents four burials from the territory of Veii that meet the criteria set for this research, the result of both old excavations and recent acquisitions. These burials are discussed in the third paragraph, where the comparison with Rome is presented and the particular phenomenon of the suggrundaria is addressed, which is widespread in Lazio, without attestations in Veii. The conclusions of the work show how, in the selected territorial and chronological range, there is no evidence of a different specific treatment reserved for the deceased up to the age of 18, compared to other contemporary burials in the same context.