ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the different sources for the study of Roman history: literary sources, coins, papyri, inscriptions, archaeological sources, and scientific studies of climate events, volcanic eruptions, and other ancient phenomena. It also assesses what is known of the very earliest settlement in Rome, and the role played by Rome’s Greek neighbours in Magna Graecia and her neighbours in Etruria. The early constitutional system is examined, including the early forms of Roman institutions such as the senate and the comitia centuriata. The chapter stresses the international context of Rome’s foundation and the city’s links with political and cultural developments elsewhere in the Mediterranean, such as at Carthage and Athens.
