Archaeologists in Paris have uncovered a wall that could settle a long-running debate about where the city was born, CBS News reports.
The stretch of stone-and-timber rampart, about 20 metres long, was found beneath the old Hôtel-Dieu hospital on the Île de la Cité, close to Notre-Dame, during building work. It is thought to be part of the defences of Lutetia, the settlement of the Gallic Parisii tribe. Traces of burning on the wall, carbon-dated to between 200 and 10 BC, may match Julius Caesar’s account of the Gauls setting fire to their town in 52 BC.
Historians have argued over whether Lutetia stood on the island or at Nanterre, to the west. France’s culture ministry called the find a major breakthrough, and it strongly supports the view that Paris began on the Île de la Cité.
Source: CBS News