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What types of objects carry Etruscan inscriptions?
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Etruscan inscriptions are found on a wide variety of objects, reflecting both formal and daily uses of the language. These inscriptions, which number over 10,000, appear on the following types of items:
- Funerary and Sacred Objects: Many inscriptions are brief funerary or dedicatory texts found on ash urns, within tombs, and on objects dedicated in sanctuaries.12
- Personal and Daily Items: Writing is frequently found on engraved bronze mirrors, coins, dice, and pottery. Graffiti scratched onto pottery is also common, often including owners' names, numbers, or abbreviations.12
- Specialized and Monumental Artifacts: Notable examples include a linen book (the Zagreb mummy wrapping), a clay tablet from Capua, a boundary stone from Perugia, a bronze model of a liver used for instruction, and gold plaques found at Pyrgi.12
These records range from simple owner labels to complex religious and juridical texts.12