On the tableland where Santa Maria dello Spineto Abbey was situated were discovered the remains of a Samnite Carecini settlement , which became Roman municipality, together with Cluviae and Juvanum, after the Social War, i.e. in the first century BC. Traces of the previous Samnite period have been identified among the remains of the Abbey: they refer to a Samnite sanctuary dating back to the third or second century B.C. and an even more ancient holy fence with polygonal masonry. The "vicus"( village), as attested by an inscription dating back to Emperor Hadrian's times, of the beginning of the second century A.D., had the name of "Trèbula" which means " hamlet ". Archaelogical excavations in the area have made possible to discover some elements: part of a small amphitheater arena, probably dating back to the first period of Roman Empire, a sanctuary holy fence, according to some scholars dedicated to Jupiter Trebulanus, i.e. to Jupiter of Trebula, some sections of the floor of the cell and the podium of the temple. Along the holy area (stone) paving, consisting of polygonal bàsoli (large paving stones), you can locate the place where the altar (ara) was . In addition to these building remains Trebula has also returned some inscriptions carved in marble that provide further evidence of the ancient city. Moreover, a necropolis, dating back to the first century B.C., was discovered nearby. As happened in many other similar situations, also in the site of Trebula in medieval ages a new settlement rose, in this case the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria dello Spineto, of which today few perimeter walls remain.