The ancient roads of Italy, which were created before the ancient Romans

If you want to explore the unusual and unadvertised Italy, then you can choose the most extraordinary direction - a hike along the most ancient paths of this region. In the south of Tuscany there is an old network of trails that has been cut right in the rocks. These are incredible buildings that are thousands of years old: they appeared in these lands long before the Romans. Today, historians argue exactly when and why they were created: the walls around the trail sometimes reach 20 meters, and there is tremendous work behind them.

The ancient creation of the Etruscans

These amazing trails are called Via Cava, which means "excavated road." The road network connects several small Tuscan towns, as well as ancient necropolises, fields and streams. On the walls, which rise several meters, traces of a chisel are still visible today. This means that all these paths were cut in the rocks manually.

Historians believe that the paths appeared here long before the ancient Romans, their creators were the Etruscans who lived in this territory from the 12th century BC. Experts came to this conclusion by thoroughly studying the ancient paths: they lead to Etruscan burials and graves, as well as to ancient settlements.

Today, little is known about the Etruscans: they preceded the ancient Romans, with whom they later assimilated. It was their culture that had a huge impact on the ancient Roman: chariot races, gladiatorial battles and many funeral traditions originate from this ancient civilization.

Ancient water channel or defensive system

Creating Via Cava is an incredibly time-consuming process. For what they were created, it is not clear: after all, it was possible to lay paths on top of rocks or around mountains, rather than hammering a stone. Therefore, other theories appeared. So, some historians suggest that this is nothing but water channels: some paths go to the riverbank. But hundreds of years passed, and the water in them simply dried up.

There is a third version: such paths served as a defensive system. Above the cliffs, it was easier to defend against invaders and wildlife, dropping boulders and stones on them.

Turning into roads

The Romans turned Via Cava into a whole road system: it connected to another road leading from Rome to Manciano, one of the important settlements. And in the days of early Christianity crucifixes and stone shrines appeared here.

In many sections of the "excavated road" you can see a deep track, which has been formed over several centuries due to the constant pressure of the wheels with a metal rim. Other sections are too narrow for the wagons, and, apparently, they were used by travelers. Today, these trails, surrounded by greenery, ferns and mosses, are great for hiking. A walk here will be truly amazing, because these roads are several millennia old.

Watch the video: How Did the Ancient Romans Manage to Build Perfectly Straight, Ultra Durable Roads? (March 2024).

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