The Archaeology of Early Rome and Latium

The archaeology of early Rome has progressed rapidly and dramatically over the last century. The excavation of the shrine of Aeneas at Lavinium and the report of walls of the Romulean city discovered on the slopes of the Palatine hill are two examples, but they are only two of the major developments of the last quarter century. The largest necropolis of the early Latian Iron Age, some 600 tombs, has been explored at Osteria dell'Osa. New archaic inscriptions, notably that of Publius Valerius from Satricum, have been found, and the authenticity of the inscription once thought to be the earliest example of Latin writing, the graffito of the "Praeneste Fibula", has been challenged. The author has been active in Italy for 35 years as a collaborator of the Italian and Sicilian archaeological administrations and, in preparation for this book, has interviewed most of the leading figures in current research on the early periods of Rome.