Somewhere at the beginning of the 6th century B.C. a small town appeared in the land of the Latins. It was called Rome, and it stood on the left bank of the Tiber, 25km from its mouth.

A citadel was built on a high, steep hill above the bank of the river. Its walls protected the inhabitants against enemy attacks.

The neighbouring hills were covered with clay and timber dwellings, roofed with straw or tiles. The streets were narrow, crooked and uncobbled. In the hollow between the hills there was a market square. In Latin it was called a forum. Coppersmiths, shoemakers and others artisans worked right in the streets and in the forum.
Most of the inhabitants were engaged in land cultivation and cattle- breeding.

The legend about the origin of Rome arose much later its foundation. According to the legend, the king of one of the Latin towns ordered his niece’s twin sons, Romulus and Remus, to be thrown into the Tiber. He was afraid that when they grew up they would seize his throne. The boys fell into a shallow part and remained alive. They were suckled by a she-wolf, then found by a shepherd and brought up in his home. When they grew up they quarreled, and Romulus killed Remus. Then he founded a city near the place where the shepherd had found them and became its king.

It is possible that neither Romulus nor Remus ever existed, but the Romans believed in the legend and even decided to start their chronology with the year of the supposed foundation of their city, that is 753 B.C. A monument to the She-wolf was erected in Rome.