Etruscans Now 
Cities and settlement
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Richard
De Puma - University of Iowa,
Paolo Togninelli - and
Francesco di Gennaro - Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma
Recent Excavations at Crustumerium
Ancient writers frequently mention Crustumerium, the northernmost Latin city just eleven miles from the center of Rome. Evidence for small pockets of settlement occurs as early as the tenth century B.C. The area gradually grew into a prosperous city that nevertheless had been completely abandoned when the Gauls invaded central Italy in 390 B.C. Up to this point, Crustumerium had been a significant Latin trading center strategically located at the nexus of Etruscan, Faliscan and Sabine territories.
The archaeological potential of the area has, unfortunately, attracted clandestine operations. Italian authorities have attempted to curb this illegal activity, and recently teams of Italian, American and German archaeologists have established a presence at the site in order to conduct controlled excavations and, at the same time, discourage further clandestine damage. This paper reports on our discoveries of the site's five major cemeteries.