Important mural remains from an ancient era, dated sometime between the middle of the 6th Century BC and the beginning of the 3rd Century AD, were uncovered during the preliminary excavation stages of the area reserved for the new Auditorium, in 1995. The excavation carried out from 1996 to 1998, revealed a building with an extension larger than 2.000 square metres. The building, in its oldest form, was a rustic farmhouse from an archaic era, which probably belonged to some rich farmer, Roman citizen and soldier. It was destroyed around 500 BC and its place taken by a large patrician villa attached to a walled village which was probably used by the agricultural slaves working there (500-300 BC). The villa’s plant was heavily modified by successive architectural interventions, at least three of which have been catalogued, and was lately completely abandoned during the first decades of the 3rd Century AD. Another fascinating hypothesis that has been formulated would have the villa as an outbuilding of the sanctuary of Anna Perenna, the nymph that the Romans celebrated on the 15th of March, the ancient Roman New Year’s Day. Such an hypothesis has been put forth following recent archaeological research which has revealed that the spring and the wood that were sacred to the nymph were close to today’s Piazza Euclide, which is also close to the new Auditorium. The Archaeological Museum is divided into separate exhibition areas. The first one displays wooden models of the farmhouse and the villa in all its architectural phases together with the most interesting archaeological material discovered, such as kitchen crockery, tableware and objects of worship. A few objects, such as a kitchen larder, a bread oven and an oil press, have also been recreated to give the viewer an idea of the productive activities and food storage methods of the time. The museum’s symbol is a large, sloping, angular tile with a head shaped like a river divinity (Acheloo?). It is now used to represent the river Tiber. The second section focuses on the archaeological emergencies facing the territory that stretches from the Mura Aureliane to the Aniene and Tiber watercourses, and is crossed by the Nomentana, Salaria and Flaminia roads. In this section, one will also find a piece of the reticulated wall structure that protected the villa, seeing these remains from the vantage point of a terrace that  can be reached from the museum’s halls.