The Roman past of Lucca has been revealed by a striking new discovery in the heart of the Tuscan walled city .
Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of a Roman presence long before the traditonal date of Roman settlement in 180 BCE - corroborating Roman historian Livy's account of the great Carthaginian general Hannibal passing through Lucca in 217 BCE .
"We've found pieces of wall that are certainly datable to a period before 200 BCE," said lead archaeologist Michelangelo Zecchini .
He said evidence of three successive "rings" of the city's development had been discovered, as well as a trove of small artefacts and other objects .
The discovery came after other finds last year which highlighted how Lucca thrived because of its strategic position on the main road that led towards Gaul .
Among the treasures turned up were the remains of a well-preserved 2nd-century BC Roman house .
Other digs have traced Lucca's beginnings under the Etruscans, a people who once ruled much of central Italy including Rome .
Lucca's foundation by the Etruscans became official last March when experts found the first Etruscan find made inside the area of the ancient acropolis .
The relic, a ceremonial goblet dating to the VI century BC, clinched Lucca's claims to Etruscan ancestry .
It has long been known that there were Etruscan settlements around the famous walled city but this was the first time an Etruscan object had been found at its heart .
Posted by david meadows on Mar-29-06 at 4:42 AM
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