Buried 300 years before official founding of city by Romulus and Remus, then covered over by [Julius] Caesar's Forum.The ashes of an ancient chief or priest who lived three centuries before the legendary founding of Rome have been unearthed in the heart of the city, archaeologists report. The remains were discovered late January inside a funerary urn at the bottom of a deep pit, along with bowls and jars, all encased in a hutlike box.
The artifacts date to about 1000 B.C. The size and richness of the tomb suggest that the ashes are the remains of a high-ranking individual, said the researchers who made the discovery.
Roberto Meneghini, of the Department of Cultural Heritage, is directing the excavations at Caesar's Forum. He says several shepherd villages rose on the hills of Rome before the city was founded. "We have evidence of settlements in the area dating back to the 14th century B.C. They were small tribes of a few dozen people," he said. "They federated in the eighth century B.C. under the rule of a leader remembered as the legendary Romulus." Roman myth holds that Romulus, son of the war god Mars and a human woman, founded Rome around 800 B.C.