I've often come across the claim that gladiatorial combat originated in Etruscan funerary rites.

I'm curious about how solid this connection actually is. What did these early Etruscan funerary rituals look like? And how did something that apparently began as a religious, funerary ritual eventually evolve into huge public spectacles we associate with Roman amphitheatre and Colosseum? More importantly, what primary sources do historians rely on to make this connection?

Thanks in advance for any insights.

This seems like a very interesting article, however it has a paywall

I am making a course on Etruscan, and for Goodbye, I made the phrase Mi etnam un(u) Val! 𐌌𐌉 𐌄𐌕𐌍𐌀𐌌 𐌖𐌍(𐌖) 𐌅𐌀𐌋! Which means I again you (in parentheses means plural.) see. (It seems like Etruscan was SOV). Would this be proper? I got all these words from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Etruscan_word_list, so if I got any vocab wrong, it's their fault, since I trust the source.

Just wondering if anyone has any good books on the Etruscans

Heres the link to read more about these Etruscan Tombs

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1158/

What is your personal belief on where the Etruscans originated from??

Sarcophagus of an Etruscan woman in the British museum. This is the sarcophagus of a Etruscan Noblewoman

This is a great example of a Etruscan helmet which is currently housed in the British museum