During mourning, Roman family of deceased did not cut their hair
A fragment of a relief from a Roman sarcophagus, showing the stages of the deceased's life: religious initiation, military service and wedding (mid-2nd century CE). | Photo: Marie-Lan Nguyen | On Creative Commons Attribution license - On the same terms 3.0.
During mourning, the family of the deceased did not cut their hair and beard, wore black clothes and did not wear any ornaments. The mourning time for the men was about a few days; when for women it was about a year – due to the death of a spouse or parent.
After the funeral the deceased’s family visited his grave occasionally with gifts, treating the ancestor in part as a domestic deity and protector of the home.
Sources
- J. M. C. Toynbee, Death and Burial in the Roman World
