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Any evidence for (inscribed) hewn gravestones before the Greeks and Romans?
The Christians adopted the practice from the Romans (or, more precisely, christianized Romans continued their pagan practice).
Much later we also find Ottoman gravestones with turbans.
Nowadays, the practice seems to have spread globally to all cultures, doesn't it?
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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The Chinese Civilization has used them for quite a long time but I am unsure of the earliest known date. The Persians as well are supposed to have used them but I haven't found any good evidence. Good Luck!
Craig Bellofatto
Going to college for Massage Therapy. So reading alot of Latin Terminology
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The wealthy would be able to afford Gravestones but they also had grave goods. The conflicting interests make having a conventional Gravestone unlikely due to looters. Up until the Romans of course. Commoners would be buried or cremated less adorned but a few would have Gravestones right? Of course the Egyptians had their own Gravestones but are fairly large, expensive and for the upper class. :wink:
Craig Bellofatto
Going to college for Massage Therapy. So reading alot of Latin Terminology
It is like a finger pointing to the moon. DON\'T concentrate on the finger or you miss all the heavenly glory before you!-Bruce Lee
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Quote:I have a feeling that this is old - very old...Just as an example of a non-Greco-Roman gravestone, here is one from Asia Minor that a researcher at the University of Chicago dates to the eighth century.
The text says the body of the dead was probably cremated, so - inferring at least from modern practice - the urn would be kept elsewhere, possibly at the home of the family. In this case, with no grave in immediate vicinity, the stele would not be a
gravestone, but rather a memorial stone. These obviously have an old age, but I have yet to see evidence for headstones the way they are today erected today at the grave.
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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I took it to mean that the stone was found in a tomb or mausoleum of sorts? I assumed that was why they think he was cremated - they found ashes. (Or the other option would be that the stone says he was cremated, I suppose.) That Italian Iron Age cemetary I mentioned previously included full-body inhumations as well as cremated remains buried in those urns shaped as huts.
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Interesting question! I don't think gravestones are an Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Scythian, Median, or Persian custom.
Epictetus gave one example of a non-Greco-Roman gravestone. I think there were some stellae at the grave circle in Mycenae, and maybe at Troy. One Norse burial custom was to outline a grave with small standing stones in the shape of a boat. And I think they used larger stones as grave markers too ... although late enough that there could be Roman influence.
In our culture, grave markers are sometimes wooden. They wouldn't leave a trace in the archaelogical record, but serve the same function as stone markers.
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