Why were the Twelve Tables never formally abolished despite later changes in Roman law?

The Law of the Twelve Tables served as the foundational legislation of ancient Roman law, established in 451–450 BCE to provide a public, written code that protected citizens against the arbitrary exercise of power by patrician magistrates.123

While many of the code's specific provisions became outmoded and were eventually modified or superseded by later legal developments—such as the jus honorarium and imperial legislation—the Twelve Tables were never formally abolished. This enduring status was primarily because the Romans deeply venerated the code as a prime legal source and the essential basis for all subsequent Roman private law. Rather than being repealed, the code remained a symbolic and foundational pillar of the Roman legal tradition throughout the history of the Republic and the Empire.123