Hidden writing : epitaphs within tombs in Early Italy

What is it about?

In the modern world, writing is most often associated with communication of information, and understood in terms of the interaction between writer and reader. In pre-Roman Italy, the levels of literacy in most societies was very low and, most publicly available writing took the form of inscriptions. as a result, the visual display of the text, and the monument or object on which is was written was as important as what it actually said. In south-east Italy, many inscriptions were epitaphs, written on the inside of sealed tombs. This paper explores the significance of the inscriptions and their function in the context of Messapic funerary practices.

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