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 .