Vita e morte nelle iscrizioni aquileiesi di committenza cristiana

The paper presents the results of the study of the age at the moment of death on Christian Aquileian inscriptions. Firstly, the wide range of ages represented is striking, while notable are the mortality peaks in the first years of life, a fact that finds comparisons with analyses of child remains found in some Italian necropolises. It should also be noted that 54% of the individuals did not live beyond the age of fifteen and that 75% did not live past the age of thirty. Even the examination of the months in which an individual died or was buried also stimulates further reflections. The months with high peaks are July, August and October: since fevers occur in summer and autumn, with the consequent deaths, are very often linked to malaria, it is perhaps possible to assume that in the 4th-5th century AD in the territory of Aquileia, as well as in other regions of the Roman Empire, less control over the water regime favoured a significant increase in malaria.