Caere, known to the Etruscans as Caisra, to the Greeks as Agylla and to the Romans as Caere, metropolis of Southern Etruria, stands on a rocky spur of Tufa, 80 metres above sea level, bordered by the rivers Mola and Manganello. In later Italian periods, the place is known as Cerveteri or "Ancient Caere". While little remains of the original Etruscan city, the necropolis or "city of the dead" with the name of Banditaccia which was linked to the city of Caere by the monumental , so called, "Way of Hades" boast world renown.

 

The city extends along a tufaceous plateau where the two rivers meet and it is not far from the sea. The presence of noticeable traces of protovillanovan settlements, particularly at Sasso di Fubara and Monte Abatone, testifies to the fact that this area was already densely populated in the prehistoric era. It is believed that the city was in the process of developing during the early Iron Age (9^th century B.C.); this is borne out by the necropolis of Sorbo and of Cava della Pozzolana, which have given us numerous Villanovan burial sites, whose form is less developed than that of those found in other places in Southern Etruria, such as Tarquinii, Veii and Vulci.

 

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