Archaeology of Early Rome and Latium (Revised)

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 of the widely reported major developments of the last quarter century. Less well-known are the richly furnished tombs of the seventh century BC, once known solely from the tombs at Praeneste, and now documented by finds throughout Latium. The largest necropolis of the early Latian Iron Age, some 600 tombs, has been explored at Osteria dell'Osa. In Rome, patrician houses of the sixth century BC have been excavated beside the Sacra Via. 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 Archaeology of Early Rome and Latinum fills the need for an English guide to these discoveries and the many controversies resulting from them. In preparation, the author interviewed most of the leading figures in current research on the early periods of Rome and has illustrated the book with over 130 photographs, maps and line drawings.