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 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.
