c. 1000                        Early settlement at the site of Rome

8th century                 Urbanisation in Etruria begins; wooden huts on the Palatine

c. 200                         Emergence of Etruscan and Latin alphabets

c. 625                          Urbanisation at Rome begins

Late 6th century        Substantial building developments at Rome

c. 500                         Rome now the largest city in Latium, with a population of between 20,000 and 30,000