Off With Their Heads

An Examination of Etruscan Funerary Ritual

Abstract

This paper examines the beliefs and practices associated with Etruscan funerary rituals based predominantly on archaeological evidence. Though there exists a lot of overlap between the Etruscans and neighbouring societies, an attempt is made to separate that which is intrinsically Etruscan from that which has been assumed based on the religious practices of those neighbouring societies. This is followed by a brief look at the practice of blood – and perhaps human – sacrifice as a ritual aspect of Etruscan funerals to discern its meaning, function, and prevalence.