The Department of the Sciences of Antiquity, 'La Sapienza' University of Rome (IT) undertakes within the AREA project several research activities linked to public and private archaeological archives in Rome and elsewhere in Italy. It also coordinates studies in collaboration with other institutions such the Archaeological Superintendency of Rome. Our aim is to examine the conceptual features of the relationship of the archaeological past and the present that might enliven contemporary discussion of museology and cultural heritage sites, especially those featuring ancient remains. Archival fonds are at the centre of our evaluation of the history of archaeology. Under consideration are the values of the continuity between past and present, the representation of continous stratification, places and presentations that may emphasize an uninterrupted relationship of the past to the present. Among the principal initiatives are the study of the Mamertine Prisons of the ancient Roman state investigated as a site from the Republican era to the present; the reconstruction of the development of life in the Roman Forum from the late antique to the middle ages; the restoration of the ancient Roman monuments in Libya during Italian colonization and the study of the birth of modern archaeology after Winckelmann through to Ennio Quirino Visconti.