The most prevalent position of inscriptions was inside the tomb. All inscriptions are to be considered in this category, not only those texts recognized directly in the structure of the tomb itself, namely meaning wall inscriptions, either painted or carved, but also the much more numerous inscriptions that appear on funerary containers, such as the case of the urns of Steprni family. Although it is possible to think that the urns, before the deposition inside the funerary structure, were temporarily visible to attendees at the funeral, there is no doubt that the main readers of the text had to be registered with those who had regular access to the tomb, the heirs of the deceased, who could recognize the graves of their ancestors this way.
Compared to older ages, in more recent times the nomenclature underwent major changes. It has in fact had a drastic reduction in the number of first names, which thus lost their individual identification force. This often leads to them being written in abbreviated forms and the need to identify the deceased with other onomastics elements. The simplest form, as in earlier ages, is what provides first names and family names. The urn of Avle Steprni is a clear testimony of this use, although it is the least common type in this period. In fact, more frequently we find a more complex nomenclature, where first name and family name are joined by an additional family name, the cognomen, or father's name, the patronymic or mother's name, namely the metronymic as the case of Larth Steprni son of Authnei. Sometimes patronymic and metronymic could be followed by the word son (clan) or daughter (sech).
Voice: Melanie Neu (Spazio Seme)
Text: Andrea Gaucci
