Tracce di sepolture infantili a Falerii e nel suo territorio

Excavations carried out in the Ager Faliscus in the last twenty years of the 19th century during the survey for the Carta Archeologica d’Italia, were hampered by severe difficulties which are reflected in the incomplete publication of the necropolises, also due to the systematic sack of the tombs by illegal diggings. This did not allow those who approach the study of the funerary contexts of this territory to offer precise data on the composition of the grave goods and on the aspects of the ritual. Moreover, in many cases it was impossible to get information about the composition of the grave goods, considering the long use of the chambers, which host many generations between the 6th and the first half of 3rd century BC. Nevertheless, in some cases it is possible to reconstruct the presence of child burials thanks to the reduced dimensions of the loculi or for the use of special sarcophagi. It is also sometimes possible to recognize objects suggesting the young age of the deceased. This paper aims at presenting these cases from Falerii and the smaller centers of its territory, in an attempt to identify any recurring characteristics that respond to specific requests of a ritual nature, highlighting on the other hand the poor visibility of the burials of children in the Faliscan area.