Kind of reminds me of how I started the last game. There were like 6 villages within 4 squares of my starting city, and I ended up with 4 techs (including ironworking) and two conscripts. Then built my second city in a jungle surrounded by 5 silk resources, and down the road a piece, 6 incense resources. Talk about luck. This has been my best start in a game.
Ran into Rome and wiped them out before they could spread after I traded tech with them. No one else had contact with Rome so it didn't matter.