Politorium
Politorium, an early settlement in Old Latium (modern-day Lazio, Italy), is situated approximately ten miles south of Rome and four miles from the Tiber River. This site was part of a network of Bronze and Iron Age communities along the route to the river-mouth port of Ostia. Archaeological excavations at Politorium have uncovered evidence of a prosperous town, including significant tombs dating back to the late eighth century BC. Among the notable artifacts found are Etruscan-style items, such as a bronze statuette that depicts the myth of Aeneas—an important cultural narrative in both Etruscan and Roman traditions. It is suggested that the settlers may have originated from nearby Etruscan city-states, or that a vibrant Etruscan community developed independently due to trade and cultural exchanges. The residential areas adjacent to the tombs indicate a social hierarchy, reflecting early stages of urbanization in the region. While tomb construction ceased around 630–620 BC, evidence suggests that habitation continued into the sixth century and beyond, highlighting the area's enduring significance throughout history.
Politorium
(identifiable with Castel di Decima; although according to another view the latter is Laurentum [see Lavinium])
An early settlement in `Old’ Latium (Lazio, western Italy), Castel di Decima is ten miles south of Rome, and four miles south of the Tiber. It was one of a dense line of Bronze and Iron Age settlements on the route from Rome to the river-mouth port of Ostia (another, likewise recently unearthed, is Ficana [on Monte Cugno, near the modern Acilia, nearer to the river]).
Excavations at Castel di Decima have revealed a prosperous town with many fine tombs dating from the last decades of the eighth century BC. Among the discoveries are artifacts of Etruscan appearance, including a bronze statuette providing the earliest known Italian representation of the myth of Aeneas, which was so prominent in Etruria and later in Rome, and became the theme of Virgil's Aeneid. Settlers may have come to the place from one of the city-states of Etruria, for example Caere (Cerveteri) or Veii (Veio), which were both near at hand; or, alternatively, a flourishing community of the Etruscan type may have arisen at Politorium without such overt intervention, by means of commercial and cultural contacts.
The residential center beside the tombs at Castel di Decima reveals a differentiation between the social grades of the dead which testifies to at least the preliminary stages of urbanization. The tombs stop c 630–20, as at other centers in the region. Yet, as recent finds have indicated, habitation continued in the sixth century and later.