The 'written death' in Late Roman collective funerary settlements. Some case studies from Rome (3rd-4th cent. CE)

The paper exposes the results of the analysis conducted about two funerary collective settlements in the suburb of Rome suburb: first of all the Christian catacomb of Domitilla along the via Ardeatina. The idea is to consider the use of epigrahic medium from both a quantitative and qualitative point of view. How much are the “inscribed tombs” in these areas; how were they realized? The “collective” or ‘community” trait of these burial areas did or did not influence the choice of materials, techniques, wiritngs, languages, formulas used in the inscriptions? Did still exist professional stone-cutters in service for the users of Christian catacombs, or not? In fact, all these elements are valuable aspects in order to define the different or homogeneous social and economic level of the users of these funerary settlements