Crustumerium, according to ancient authors, was a city overlooking the Tiber between Eretum and Fidenae; thanks to these precise testimonies, to which must be added the indication of the exact distance from Rome along the via Salaria, it has been easy to identify the historical site, marked by a vast area of surface archaeological materials.
The city, Latin according to the majority of ancient authors, seems to have arisen between the 10th and 9th centuries BC and from the beginning its history is linked to the events of the birth and development of Rome; among other things, it is one of the centers featured in the famous historical-legendary episode of the Rape of the Sabine Women. It reached the peak of its flourishing in the 7th and 6th centuries BC; its decline was marked, at the end of the 5th century, by the unstoppable expansion of Rome.
After the toll booth of the Florence-Rome highway, at the end of the long final straight, the hills of Crustumerium accompany for a few kilometers the route of those who reach the capital. The ancient city of Crustumerium is therefore the first archaeological complex encountered coming from the most important route connecting to Europe, almost an official introduction to Rome.
And it is a worthy introduction: Crustumerium, in fact, is the only center of the ancient Latial civilization not compromised by modern urbanization and throughout the area the landscape is extraordinarily preserved.
Currently, the area of the ancient city is known only in broad outlines, thanks to surface surveys and sporadic excavations by the Archaeological Superintendency of Rome (since 1982) that have however allowed the discovery of about two hundred tombs and the recovery of remarkable tomb furnishings made up of ceramics and bronzes (about 120 pieces were recovered in tomb 9 alone, excavated in 1987 in loc. Monte Del Bufalo).
In recent decades, illegal excavators have managed to plunder thousands of tombs (numerous objects of considerable value have recently appeared on foreign antiquarian markets), causing significant damage to the scientific heritage and partly compromising future research.
The entire area of the settlement, the surrounding necropolises, and part of the territory of the ancient center, covering about 440 hectares, is protected under laws 1089/39 and 1497/39. A sector of 58 hectares including parts of the funeral areas of Monte Del Bufalo and Cisterna Grande was purchased by the Public Administration in 1998.
