Editing Anagni (section)

===Prehistory and ancient era===

The first human settlements date back to more than 700,000 years, according to the dating of some Palaeolithic hand-made fragments recently recovered. Several objects made of bone and flint stone and also two human molars and incisors belonging to fossil ''[[Homo erectus]]'' have been found in Fontana Ranuccio.

The first people known by name who lived in the area were the [[Hernici]] who migrated from the Aniene valley and descended from the [[Marsi]] (Marsians) (or from the [[Sabines]]), at least according to the ethnical term deriving from the Marsian ''herna'' ("stone"),{{cn|date=August 2023}} that is: "Those who live on the stony hills". Only two words remain of their language: ''Samentum'', a strip of sacrificial skin, and ''Bututti'', a sort of funeral lament.

Anagni was an important city and spiritual centre of the [[Hernici]]. The town was located on the acropolis (the north-east zone comprising the Cathedral, Tufoli gate, and Piazza Dante) and partially defended by walls in ''opus quasi-quadratum'' (almost squared work).

Recent archaeological discoveries have revealed cultural and economic relationships between the Hernici and the Etruscans around the 7th century BC.{{cn|date=August 2023}}