Mecanismos de Participación Ciudadana Local

Roman municipalities recognized that funeral workers were necessary for maintaining !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ++*_{!#/6/./8,+//0!UR#C!$,.L(,C%.*L!B594C!,C.)C%/b*L!M349C!$,.L(.,C)C!X!j,89;:1("J!5!Z3H3957!439;!8:9!J:;3:H3!} RHF39!=:H495=4!4:!F:!J:;342"HZ(!6R4!"J!5!439;!RJ3F!4:!F3H:43!423!235F!:8!423!RHF3945V39J!54!MR43:7"!>IJ( %@.%(!,,?C!D8C!!"#(^'(!,/**!8:9!5H!3Q"45Q2!:8!5!7,89;:1(E2:!;5H5Z3F!69:HÉ3!E:9VJ2:QJ!5HF!J49R=V!J"7#39C! D8C!]:F37(![c357"HZ!E"42!423!F35F(~!%A)b,C!! ++)_{!123!Z9:#3!E5J!Q9:6567K!H359!423!M:945!OJÄR"7"H5!5HF!OJÄR"7"H3!=3;3439K!>=8C![7R=RJ!G"6"4"H53(~!"H!I(} R;H(G*:*B+,:E/9,5(K/9./*8,+W(*A(I89/;8.(D*7;M(3FC!G5E93H=3!P"=259FJ:H!\]574";:930!U:2HJ!<:QV"HJ! IH"#39J"4K!M93JJ(!%@@+_((+A*?C!OJ4567"J2;3H4!:8!423!Z9:#30!M7R4C!R07,(!%+C%C!G"J4J!:8!423!F35F0!c":HC!<57C! /C%*C*L!TR34C!R;+L(A@C%C!X!+,./*(:8!423!F35F!E5J!5!Q95=4"=3!93Q:943F7K!"HJ4"4R43F!6K!T39#"RJ!1R77"RJ!4:!5"F!"H! 423!=3HJRJ(!5HF!7"43959K!3#"F3H=3!JRZZ3J4J!4254!42"J!5==:RH4"HZ!=:H4"HR3F!54!735J4!"H4:!423!8"9J4!=3H4R9K!DOC!!

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the hygiene and religious health of the city in which they worked; however, their continual interaction with the dead appears to have made them at least a temporary danger to the rest of the populace.227 Their interaction with the dead, whether in providing a proper burial to notable Romans (e.g., Hirtius and Pansa) or in disposing of the bodies of the indigent (e.g., within the puticuli of the Esquiline), polluted them. As demonstrated in the passage from the

lex Libitinaria of Puteoli that introduced this chapter, Romans viewed corpse carriers and executioners as persons who could not live within the confines of the city.228 At Puteoli, the polluted nature of these workers was indicated by red caps, and was contained by making workers live outside the city walls and work at night.

Those polluted by death were contagious; they could not perform sacrifices or participate in certain public rituals, a fact exemplified by the rumor that Tiberius was

unhappy that Germanicus went back to bury the dead years after the disaster in the Teutoberg forest, since: “A general invested with the augurate and its very ancient ceremonies ought not to have polluted himself with funeral rites.”229 _{In accordance with the Roman perception of}

the corpse, funeral workers in Rome, Puteoli, and elsewhere were marginalized by the communities they served, and denied participation within the civic sphere. Although these persons have been previously recognized as outcasts of Roman society, I depart from the major works on these funeral workers by first discerning a spectrum of disrepute among !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ++._{!123!1E37#3!15673J!>=5C!/*W!]DO?!8:965F3!6:F"3J!4:!63!6R9"3F!:9!=93;543F!"HJ"F3!423!="4K!>&C'?(!5J!F:3J!} 423!=259439!89:;!I9J:!>//]DO?!>"#$()W,.-i"DI('C%..b@,?C!D"=39:!>K;(5;BL(+C+AC*,?!J5KJ!4254!"4!"J!63=5RJ3! :8!8"93C!T=23"F!59ZR3J!4254!6R"7F"HZ!4:;6J!E"42"H!423!="4K!E5J!H:4!5H!";Q":RJ!5=4!>[123!8:9;54":H!:8! J5=93F!75E!"H!P:;3(~!"H!D;5/B/*8(,8?(#,H(/8(!E+/1./,8(,8?(!5,11/9,5(D*7;(!3FC!D7"88:9F!XHF:!5HF!Uà9Z!PêQV3! \T4R44Z5940!Ü95HÉ!T43"H39!^3975Z(!+WW)_(!+*b)?(!E2"73!áK73!J33J!423!Q9:#"J":H!5J!J43;;"HZ!89:;![P:;5H! 937"Z":RJ!=:H=39HJ!56:R4!Q:77R4":H~!>$:;9.,95;1(*A(K;,.EM(%+@?C!!! ++,_{!T33!3JQ3="577K!<RZ2!G"HFJ5K(!çc3542bQ:77R4":H!5HF!8RH3957J!"H!423!="4K!:8!P:;3(~!"H!K;,.E(,8?(K/1;,1;(} /8(.E;(I89/;8.(!/.W(!^5739"3!BC!<:Q3!5HF!O"935HH!B59J2577(!3FFC!>}3E!Ç:9V!5HF!G:HF:H0!P:R473FZ3(!+WWW?(! %*+b.AC! ++@_{!15=C!I88L(%C)+0!`a8;<0;(/7:;+,.*+;7(,0B0+,.0(;.(P;.01./11/7/1(9,;+/7*8//1(:+,;?/.07(,?.+;9.,+;(A;+,5/,(} ?;60/11;LN!!

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them, and secondly, by evaluating the possible effect of this stigma on social habits, particularly the epigraphic habit.

4.1 The stigmatization of funeral workers in other cultures

The disrepute that surrounded funeral workers in Roman society is evident within numerous other premodern societies and no doubt stemmed from the precarious position of these professionals within societies as a mediator between the living and the dead.230 In Achaemenian Persia, a Zoroastrian text called the Videvdat (law against the demons) lists the sixteen lands created by the god Ahura Mazda.231 _{The text’s instructions on how to cleanse a}

corpse-bearer indicate the pollution that those in contact with the dead were perceived to have contracted.

What is to be done with a corpse bearer? He is to be taken to a dry, desolate place without vegetation and put in a walled enclosure. Since he has had prolonged exposure to pollutants, people must bring him clothing and food but stay at least 30 paces away. They then pray “May he renounce every evil thought, evil word, and evil deed!” then he will be clean.232

As in Puteoli and ancient Persia, the separation of those dealing with the dead from the public is seen in numerous other cultures, as is the use of special clothing or insignia to warn others.233 Yet funeral workers were not the only professional class outcast by the societies !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! +AW_{!XH429:Q:7:Z"J4J!5HF!2"J4:9"5HJ!25#3!7:HZ!H:43F!423!;3F"54:9K!9:73!:8!8RH3957!E:9V39JC!X9H:7F!^5H!} Y3HH3QNJ!#;1(D/.;1(*A(:,11,B;(>M59"J0!OC!}:R99K( %@W@?!"J!Q3925QJ!423!;:J4!93=:ZH"É3F!5H429:Q:7:Z"=57! 3$5;Q73C!^5H!Y3HH3Q!59ZR3F!8:9!423!RHF3945V39!5J!423!9"4R57!;3F"54:9!634E33H!423!2393!5HF!42393C!Ü:9! 423!"F35!:8!RHF3945V39!5J!;3F"54:9!5;:HZ!5H="3H4!2"J4:9"5HJ(!J33!^5739"3!BC!<:Q3!5HF!O"935HH!B59J2577(! ['H49:FR=4":H(~!"H!K;,.E(,8?(K/1;,1;(/8(.E;(I89/;8.(!/.W(>}3E!Ç:9V(!G:HF:H0!P:R473FZ3(!+WWW?(!)L!]:F37! >[c357"HZ!E"42!423!F35F(~!%A*?!="43J!423!5H429:Q:7:Z"=57!43H34J!:8!B57"H:EJV"C!!! +A%_{!X742:RZ2!"4!=5HH:4!63!F543F!E"42!=3945"H4K(!423!`/?;P?,.("J!RJR577K!F543F!4:!423!M5942"5H!Q39":FJ(!</sub> 634E33H!423!8"9J4!5HF!J3=:HF!=3H4R9"3J!DOC!! +A+<sub>!`/?;P?,.(AC%*b+%C!D8C!]9R=3!G"H=:7H(!D;5/B/*8M(J7:/+;M(,8?(G*+.0+;S(GE;(9,1;(*A(I9E,;7;8/,8(V;+1/,M(H/.E(} ,(:*1.19+/:.(*8(I60(nE+,/6(>D2"=5Z:0!IH"#39J"4K!:8!D2"=5Z:!M93JJ(!+WW.?(!,Ab,/C ! +AA_{!'H!%)WA(!423!Y9354!D:R94!"H!'QJE"=2(!OHZ75HF!"JJR3F!5!F3=933!4254!`6R9"39JN!E:R7F!63!Q5"F!%)!Q3H=3!5HF!} 42540![\423!6R9"39J_!J2577!93;5"H!"H!423!2:RJ3!6R"7F3F!8:9!423;(!423K!J2577!25#3!423"9!#"=4R57J!5HF!42"HZJ!

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they served; they were often part of a larger, yet still marginal, community.

In medieval Japan, there was ostracism of ‘impure’ tradesmen—tanners, floor-mat weavers, undertakers, tomb caretakers, and executioners—who populated a caste.234 In early modern Germany, undertakers and gravediggers were among the professions of unehrlichen Leuten (dishonorable people) who were often denied membership in journeymen guilds and who could be denied the power to serve as guardian or heir, take an oath, prosecute another in court, or even prove their innocence.235 The rejection of gravediggers by the journeyman guilds illustrates the struggle waged by early modern guilds to establish a clear demarcation between moral and immoral trades, much in the manner that Rome did during the Republic. The development of this “guild morality” among German cities’ journeymen associations— themselves civic symbols that marched in processions, held religious services, and

established contracts with the local councils—placed gravediggers outside the civic sphere.236 The marginalization of groups of funeral workers from reputable society is then common throughout history. Moreover, these infamous tradesmen, whether in the Persian Empire, medieval Japan, or early modern Germany reflect the social mores of their culture.

The stigmatization of funeral workers is similarly evident within Roman society, wherein those involved in the business of death suffered numerous social, political, and legal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 69:RZ24!423;!E"42!423"9!F5"7K!E5Z3J(!5HF!E23H!423K!Z:!569:5F!"H!4:EH!"H!QR9JR"4!:8!423"9!FR4"3J(!423K! J2577!=599K!E2"43!E5HFJ!:9!9:FJ!"H!423"9!25HFJ!J:!5J!4:!63!VH:EH!89:;!:4239!;3HC~ U:J3Q2!MC!]K9H3(!K,/5W( #/A;(K0+/8B(.E;(45,9U(K;,.E(>Ö3J4Q:94(!D10!Y933HE::F!M93JJ(!+WW)?(!%W+C!! +A/_{!'H!;3F"3#57!U5Q5H(!423!J454RJ!:8!42:J3!"H!F38"73F!495F3J!E5J!=5773F!`;.,NC!D8C!O;"V:!|2HRV"!1"39H3K(!GE;(} j*8U;W(,1(j/++*+S($W76*5/9(.+,81A*+7,./*81(/8(Q,:,8;1;(E/1.*+W(,8?(+/.0,5(>M9"H=34:H0!M9"H=34:H! IH"#39J"4K!M93JJ(!%@,.?(!.*b%WWC!! +A*_{!Ö39H39!c5H=V394(!w8;E+5/9E;(5;0.;L(?/;(P;+A;7.;8(4;+0A;(>]39H0!Ü95H=V3(!%@)A?(!@b+WL!*Wb*)L!á542K!} T4R594(!K;A/5;?(G+,?;1(,8?($*9/,5(N0.9,1.1S()*8*+(,8?(+/.0,5(:*550./*8(/8(;,+5W(7*?;+8(n;+7,8W( >D5;69"FZ30!D5;69"FZ3!IH"#39J"4K!M93JJ(!%@@@?(!%WAb%W*C!! +A)_{!B5=V!Ö57V39(!n;+7,8()*7;(G*H81S(!*7708/.WM(;1.,.;(,8?(B;8;+,5(;1.,.;M(]}ml2]l[](>'425=50!D:9H377!} IH"#39J"4K!M93JJ(!%@@,?(!@,b%W.C('J5637!<R77!H:43J!4254!ZR"7FJ!3;Q25J"É3F!9"4R57!5HF!2:H:9!5HF!E393! "HJ49R;3H457!4:!423!=9354":H!:8!;:957!=:F3JC!123!F9"#"HZ!8354R93!:8!ZR"7F!;:957"4K!E5J!3$=7RJ":H! >$;@0,5/.WM($.,.;M(,8?(!/P/5($*9/;.W(/8(n;+7,8WM(][\\2]l]k!\'425=50!D:9H377!IH"#39J"4K!M93JJ(!%@@)_(!/+?C!!

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disabilities in the Republican and early imperial periods. As I will now examine, the level of disrepute was commensurate with the degree of direct contact that the funeral worker had with the corpses. Lower level workers such as lecticarii (bier carriers) and pollinctores

(morticians) appear to have incurred the most disrepute from their polluting contact with the dead and to have incurred infamia; yet, as the tabula from Heraclea indicates, the libitinarius

and dissignator perhaps incurred a less severe level of disrepute due to their decreased level of direct contact with corpses. Moreover, the disrepute surrounding funeral workers can be further envisaged by examining the use of servile workers in particular as the preferred laborers that came into direct contact with the deceased and prepared them for burial.

4.2. Servile Funeral Workers in Rome and Italy

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Slaves could perform various jobs within the funeral association and were used as musicians, bier-carriers, executioners, and morticians. Petronius speaks of the slave of a

libitinarius, who is (ironically) proclaimed by Petronius as the most respectable man at Trimalchio’s party.237 In the rehearsal of Trimalchio’s funeral, the slave began to play a funeral dirge with his trumpet, and was louder than the cornicines specially called in for the occasion. The passage reflects the social perception of the slave, but another facet that has gone relatively unnoticed is that, although he was the slave of a libitinarius, he played the trumpet. Perhaps the slave was not himself an undertaker, but was either a slave musician employed by the libitinarius or was both a musician and an undertaker—two services that would have been needed for funerals. Yet another essential task within a funeral association was that of bier-carrier. Martial mentions four inscripti, slaves who had been branded, who !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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! %W*! were carrying a body to be thrown on a mass pyre.238

Slaves were also employed as executioners in Rome and throughout the provinces during the Republic and empire; men whom Cicero believed should be far removed ‘a corpore civium Romanorum.’239 _{For instance, when the city council of Minturnae had}

determined that Marius be put to death, a servus publicus (public slave)—in this case a prisoner of war sold into slavery—was chosen to carry out the sentence, and in Thessalonica in 304 CE, the slave Zosimus served as executioner to Christians who refused sacrifice.240 Municipal councils may have carried out sentences of capital punishment using public slaves, but a servus privatus could have been employed, in Puteoli for instance, to serve as a carnifex

in carrying out the executions of other slaves. It is likely that in Rome and other urban centers in Italy and the empire, slaves did predominate as lower-level funeral workers and executioners within many societates—but this does not mean that we should discount the importance of these persons or the niche they filled within the urban fabric.

These slaves were the property and responsibility of the head of the societas, and it was his job to oversee them. An entry in the Digest indicates that libitinarii throughout the empire were held legally responsible for the actions of their slave workers. The Augustan jurist !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! +A,_{!B594C!,C.*C@C!"819+/:./(E393!J75#3J!695HF3F!RJR577K!63=5RJ3!423K!25F!;"J6325#3F!:9!49"3F!4:!3J=5Q3C!'4!} "J!RH=7359!E2K!423J3!J75#3J!E393!695HF3F(!6R4!Q3925QJ!423!7"83!:8!5H!3HJ75#3F!6"39b=599"39!E5J!J:;342"HZ! 423K!E"J23F!4:!3J=5Q3!89:;C!! +A@_{!D"=C!V+*(D,6L(%)0![]R4!423!3$3=R4":H39(!5HF!423!#3"7"HZ!:8!423!235F(!5HF!423!;393!H5;3!:8!423!Z"6634(!} J2:R7F!63!859!93;:#3F(!H:4!:H7K!89:;!423!="#"=!6:FK!:8!P:;5H!="4"É3HJ!bb89:;!423"9!42:RZ24J(!5HF!3K3J(! 5HF!359J~!>`a9,+8/A;@(P;+*(;.(*6?09./*(9,:/./1(;.(8*7;8(/:107(9+09/1(,61/.(8*8(7*?*(,(9*+:*+;(9/P/07( D*7,8*+07(1;?(;./,7(,(9*B/.,./*8;M(*905/1M(,0+/601LC?C! +/W_{!B59"RJ0!^377C!M54C!+C%@CAL!M7R4C!j,+L(A@L!¶:J";RJ0!j,+.W+/07($,89.,+07(IB,:,;M("+;8,;((!;.(!E/*8,;!*C,b} )C+!><396394!BRJR9"77:(!GE;(I9.1(*A(.E;(!E+/1./,8(j,+.W+1!\|$8:9F0!D7593HF:H!M93JJ(!%@.+_(!+@W?((12;(1;+P/( :*:05/(D*7,8/(E393!RHF39!423!=:H49:7!:8!;RH"="Q57!=:RH="7J!5HF!=:R7F!J39#3!5J!5H!3$3=R4":H39(!5443HF5H4! "H!43;Q73J(!5J!5H!5==:RH45H4(!:9!"H!:4239!QR67"=!J39#"=3!S:6JC!D8C!}:37!G3HJV"(![$;+P/(V065/9/("H!G543! XH4"ÄR"4K(~!"H!K/;($.,?.(/8(?;+($:y.,8./U;(2(R/;?;+B,8B(*?;+(d,8?;5Ñ(!U3HJbIE3!á95RJ3!5HF!D29"J4"5H! Ö"4J=237(!3FFC!>T4R44Z5940!Ü95HÉ!T43"H39!^3975Z(!+WW)?(!A//b/*L!X73$5HF39!Ö3"JJ(!$U5,P;(?;+($.,?.0! w8.;+109E08B;8(c0+(eAA;8.5/9E;8($U5,P;+;/(/8(?;8($.y?.;8(?;1(De7/19E;8(D;/9E;1L(<"J4:9"5!O"HÉ37J=29"843H! H:C!%.A!>T4R44Z5940!!Ü95HÉ!T43"H39!^3975Z(!+WW/?(!%%/b%)C!!

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Labeo stated that if a ‘libitinarius, who the Greeks calla iodkhfwqmeí’has employed a slave to wash the body (a pollinctor) and that slave robs the corpse, then the libitinarius is responsible.241 Whether law is reflective of the social reality or not, the Roman elite often appear suspicious of slaves. Yet this slave labor was essential to both the urban economy and the mortuary trade of many Roman cities. As non-Romans, servi were already perceived to lack the civic allegiance and values of a Roman civis. Labeo’s entry in the Digest typifies the fact that, as persons already marginalized by the Roman state and reduced to commodities, slaves were perhaps the optimal labor source for funeral associations.

4.3 The status of the dissignator in Roman law

The Digest supports the position of the director, the dissignator, above that of lower- level actors and actresses, and also indicates the elevated status of some dissignatores due to their connection to the imperial house by the second century CE. The Hadrianic jurist Celsus maintained that dissignatores, called brabeutas in Greek, did not practice the ars ludicra—a term used to refer to those infames involved in theater or games—because they performed a public service, were not actors, and were employed by the emperor.242 While they were still disreputable to a degree, it appears that Celsus attempted to maintain their social elevation above common, infamis theatrical performers. Because the dissignator did not directly touch a corpse or personally perform on stage, he was a mediator rather than a direct participant and likewise received a lesser degree of disrepute. Yet, even though dissignatores and other !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! +/%_{!I7QC!K/BL(%/CAC*C,C!I7Q"5H!"J!938399"HZ!4:!G563:(!423!XRZRJ45Hb395!SR9"J4C!`"?;7(,/.M(1/(5/6/./8,+/01M(<0*1(</sub> n+,;9;(~ÄÅÇÉÑÖÜáà(P*9,8.M!1;+P07(:*55/89.*+;7(E,60;+/.(/1<0;(7*+.007(1:*5/,P;+/.M(?,8?,7(/8(;07( <0,1/(/81./.*+/,7(,9./*8;7M(<0,7P/1(;.(A0+./(;.(/8/0+/,+07(,9./*(9*7:;.;+;.LN!! +/+<sub>!D37C!K/BL(AC+C/C%0!`K;1/B8,.*+;1(,0.;7M(<0*1(B+,;9/(6+,6;0.,1(,::;55,8.M(,+.;7(50?/9+,7(8*8(A,9;+;(!;5101(} :+*6,.M(<0/,(7/8/1.;+/07M(8*8(,+.;7(50?/9+,7(;@;+9;,8.L(;.(1,8;(5*901(/1.;(E*?/;(,(:+/89/:;(8*8(:+*(7*?/9*( 6;8;A/9/*(?,.0+LC!

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funeral directors did not engage directly with corpses, there was an added stigma of

profiteering that surrounded the Roman mortuary trade with which those within it also had to contend. The Roman perception of quaestus (profit) was negative, as was the thought of profiting off of another’s misfortune.243

The financial success of a collegium of Libitina depended on the number of burials that it undertook, and literary sources, such as Seneca, indicate a suspicion that funeral workers may have hoped for death.244 Thus there was an added stigma attached to funeral workers as profit seekers. Whereas familial burials were an act of piety, these professionals—as Valerius observed—were perceived to value quaestus rather than pietas. The disdain for those striving for quaestus was glimpsed at in the discussion of Horatius Balbus’ cemetery given to the city of Sarsina, which dictated that disreputable tradesmen that worked for profit (‘quei quaestum spurcum professi essent’) were not allowed in the cemetery.245 The contempt for profit-based services within Roman society certainly added to the disrepute of funeral professionals.

As I have shown, the stigmas that surrounded funeral workers—both at the lower and upper levels—affected the social stature of these individuals; however, an additional question to be posed is: did they have an effect on their epigraphic habit? For example, it would be inappropriate for funeral workers to employ dedicatory inscriptions to Libitina—a key source of evidence for collegia and frequently used in order to ask a deity for increased grain or good wealth for ships (i.e., the god’s specialty). Should these men ask for more death so that

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! +/A!D8C!D"=C!K;(NAAL(%C/+C!! +//_{!T3HC!K;(4;8L()CA,C%0!['H!J:;3!J4543J!5H!3#"7!E"J2!E5J!93Z59F3F!5J!5!=9";3C!'4!"J!=3945"H!4254!54!X423HJ!} c3;5F3J!:645"H3F!5!#39F"=4!5Z5"HJ4!:H3!E2:!J:7F!3ÄR"Q;3H4!8:9!8RH3957J(!6K!Q9:#"HZ!4254!23!25F!Q95K3F! 8:9!Z9354!Z5"HJ(!E2"=2!23!=:R7F!H:4!:645"H!E"42:R4!423!F3542!:8!;5HK!Q39J:HJ~!>`"8(<0/601?,7(9/P/.,./601( /7:/07(P*.07(19;5;+/1(P/9;7(.;80/.L(K;7,?;1(9;+.;(I.E;8/1(;07M(<0/(8;9;11,+/,(A08;+/601(P;8?/.,6,.M( ?,78,P/.M(907(:+*6,11;.(7,B807(509+07(*:.,11;M(<0*?(9*8./8B;+;(/55/(1/8;(705.*+07(7*+.;(8*8(:*.;+,.LN?C! +/*_{!!"#(&'(!)*+,C!!}

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they might prosper? Certainly the literary evidence suggests that the populace thought of the associations dependent on Libitina as profiteers, but this taboo is perhaps the reason we lack dedicatory inscriptions that could provide key evidence for the association. Similarly, there is a dearth of inscriptions for private tax publicani, despite the fact that numerous equites

turned a profit as a mancipes overseeing tax collectors in the provinces. Like tax publicans, funeral workers within Roman society carried a stigma that may have resulted in the omission of their employment on their epitaphs in favor of more socially respected

accomplishments; yet, as I will now show, the funeral economy and the funeral director were a social and economic crossroad within Roman society.

5. The Role of the Dissignator in Roman Society

The numerous aspects that played a part in a funeral—the buying of the burial space,