Word is spreading through the media of a major find in Tuscany of a major Etruscan road. Following are excerpts from a report in Discovery:
A plain in Tuscany destined to become a dump has turned out to be an archaeologist's dream, revealing the biggest Etruscan road ever found.
Digging in Capannori, near Lucca, archaeologist Michelangelo Zecchini has uncovered startling evidence of an Etruscan "highway" which presumably linked Etruscan Pisa, on the Tyrrhenian coast, to the Adriatic port of Spina.
Passing through Bologna, the ancient "two-sea highway" runs just a few meters away from today's modern highway which links Florence to the Tyrrhenian coast.
"It all started with the discovery of four big stones. I realized they could not lie in an alluvial plain by chance. As we dug a sample area, we found a large road still bearing the ruts left by chariots 2,500 years ago," Zecchini told Discovery News.
Dating to the end of the 6th century B.C., the seven-meter-wide (23-foot) road supported intense chariot traffic towards Spina, an Etruscan-controlled trading emporium where Etruscan and Greeks lived and worked together, and through which were imported great quantities of Greek goods.
"A great amount of information, including tombs, monuments and villages, lie hidden along this road," Zecchini said.
The ancient highway was also mentioned by Greek geographer Skylax, who in the 4th century B.C. wrote that a great road linked Pisa with Spina by a three-day journey.
For more, click to read the Discovery story.
Great posting! Sadly, I think that poor edutocianal practices are still too prevalent, despite our collective knowledge and personal experiences. I am looking forward to further discussions on skills-based learning/"real education".
Posted by: Laura | April 26, 2012 at 05:55 PM