The culture was likely therefore to identify a phase of the socio-political self-consciousness of the Latin tribe, during the period of the kings of Alba Longa and the foundation of the Roman Kingdom.

Much of these changes in material culture correspond with like contemporary changes in Etruscan sites; Latium, however, was a poorer area in general as it did not possess the rich mineral veins present further north.

Material remains of their houses indicate a lack of masonry construction techniques; instead, oval wattle and daub huts with diameters rarely greater than 20 feet (6.1 m) with thatched roofs were common.

Due to the lack of kilns, soft clay of the period also was heated in open flame, leading to a black and sooty appearance.

Grave goods were used: archaeologists have discovered in the Roman forum and the Alban hills ash urns that modelled huts that probably represented dwellings in the afterlife.

Jewelleries made from amber and potteries imported from Etruria and, in a few cases, from Greece – one globular flask has, inscribed by a metal point, the Greek letters EULIN – begin to make an appearance in graves.

By this time the population also starts to disperse, bringing more lands under agriculture and increased surpluses, fuelling the lifestyles of local elites.

Most inhumations were simple with no goods at all, but some of the wealthiest graves dated to the seventh century contained women dressed in rich garments adorned with amber and glass bead, gold and silvery fibulae, and ornamental silver wire.

These shifts likely reflected the creation of city-states under Greek influence, along with the development of metalworking and ceramics joined with population growth and higher levels of agricultural production.

Latium, however, still remained poorer than Etruria to the north due to its lack of major mineral deposits, which left it less connected than the Etruscans to pan-Mediterranean trade networks.