Thomas Ashby

“ The exact date of the abandonment of the town itself and the incorporation of its territory with that of Lavinium is uncertain, but it may be placed in the latter part of the republic. Under the empire a portion of it must have been imperial domain and forest. We hear of an imperial, procurator in charge of the elephants at Laurentum; and the imperial villa may perhaps be identified with the extensive ruins at Tor Paterno itself. ”

“ It is impossible without further excavation to reconcile the remains—mainly of substructions—with the elaborate description of his villa given by Pliny (cf. H. Winnefeld in Jahrbuch des Instituts, 1891, 200 seq.) .
The site of the ancient Lavinium, no less than 300 ft. above sea-level and 21/2 m. inland, is far healthier than the low-lying Laurentum, where, except in the immediate vicinity of the coast, malaria must have been a dreadful scourge. ”

“ It possesses considerable natural strength, and consists of a small hill, the original acropolis, occupied by the modern castle and the village surrounding it, and a larger one, now given over to cultivation, where the city stood. ”