Here's what I have on my sheets:
The dead were buried outside the city walls because of the belief that only the living could dwell inside the city gates. No tombs have been found in Herculaneum. Outside Pompeii, whole streets of tombs exist. The inscriptions and decorations provide valuable information about the lives and religious beliefs of those interred.
The Romans cremated their dead and placed the ashes in urns, which were buried in the ground with the place marked by a hern, inscribed with the dead person's name and age OR they were placed in tombs, often alongside family members. In some burials, a pope was placed into the ground beside the hern to carry libations down to the urn. A special type of tomb was the exedra - seat tombs - granted as public honour. The largest tomb (and this would be a source) uncovered so far is Eumachia's.
Tomb inscriptions include:
1. Conviva, slave of Veia. Lived 20 years.
2. Galus Caecillius Secundus, soldier of the eight cohort. Lived for 28 years, served for 14.
3. To Claudia Laudica, freedwoman of Augustus. Lived 55 years.
4. Mythus, freedman of Augustus. Lived 75 years.
5. To Gnaeus Alleius Eros, freedman of Maius, appointed as Augustalis free of charge, to whom the Augustales and inhabitants of the country distrct decreed 1000 sesterces for his funeral rites. Lived 22 years.
6. To Septumia, daughter of Lusius. Granted by decree of the town councillors a burial place and 2000 sesterces for the funeral, Antistia Prima, daughter of Publius, her daughter, built [this monument]
7. To Marcus Obellius Firmus, son of Marcus, aedile, duumvir with judicial power. The town councillors decreed him a burial place and 5000 sesterces for his funeral; the inhabitants of the country decreed him 30 pounds of frankincense and a shield, and their attendants 1000 sesterces for perfumes, and a shield.
8. To Decimus Lucretius Valens, son of Dedmus. Lived for 2 years.
9. Helle, slave-girl, lived 4 years.
10. Caecilla Agathia, freedwoman of Lucius, in her lifetime constructed [this] for herself and for Lucius Caecillus Dioscurides, freedman of Lucius, her husband.
My teacher was a big fan of making us figure things out for ourselves, which was both good and bad. But basically the inscriptions show alot about life in Pompeii, and about religious rites and stuff - basically those with the bigger inscriptions and the more money spent on them were the more important people, and of course those with just simple inscriptions are the freedpeople or the slaves. And the fact that so much money was spent on the funerals meant that death rites were a major part of the society.
Hope that helps - it's not an awful lot, I know - and I'd give some stuff from the text book but I (gladly) gave it back.
