Etruscan Ages. Epigraphic documentation and age classes in Tarquinia

Abstract

This article takes into account Etruscan funerary inscriptions in which the age of the deceased is mentioned. Through the analysis of the documentation in the Tarquinian area, it is proposed to take stock of a phenomenon whose motivations remain elusive. The concentration of evidence in some tombs and the absence in others equally eminent, as well as the continuity of choices within aristocratic groups, seem to point towards a phenomenon connected to family habits and traditions. This explanation is the only one capable of holding together the variety of existing solutions, but it is not sufficient to justify the different choices sometimes made by individuals of the same group.