original_query: What were the Roman funerary practices concerning funerals, cremations, and burials?
query: What were the Roman funerary practices concerning funerals, cremations, and burials?
answer: Roman funerary practices varied by social class and time period.  Early Romans practiced both inhumation (burial) and cremation, with cremation becoming dominant during the Republic before inhumation's resurgence in the later Empire.  Funerals involved rituals to manage ritual pollution associated with death, and included processions, eulogies, and sometimes games like gladiatorial combats.  The wealthy had elaborate funerals, sometimes with state-sponsored honors, while the poor received simpler, less costly rites, or even disposal in pits or rivers.  Burial locations were outside city boundaries, except for a few privileged individuals.