The contributions of this volume study economic aspects of Roman burial
architectures for extended numbers of burials, such as columbaria, large hypogea, or
catacombs, and try to form a picture of their owners and users. They discuss how far
economic reasons played a leading role in the invention, the development and the use
of these big burial monuments in Rome and how these buildings fulfilled the
religious and social needs of their users, especially in the transitional period
from the Roman to the Early Christian period. New studies in Roman funeral monuments
could document interesting evidence for the dynamic process of the preparation and
use of burial space. Especially in larger architectures for much more than a single
family, the economic aspects of the  ownership and use of these installations is
fascinating. Who were the planners of the projects, why were certain places and
specific architectures chosen? How and at what time in the project were the burials
of the owners and their families provided for? In what manner were further tombs
sold or given to others? And which locations within the installation were they able
to get? During the last decades, a series of general studies on Roman burials and
burial customs were base on older documentation out of necessity, while new and more
detailed analysis of single monuments often provide new and different insights of
interpretation.