Ancient wall found under Paris hotel could confirm origins of city

An ancient wall discovered beneath Paris was described as a "major breakthrough" on Wednesday by France's culture ministry, with the archaeological find possibly confirming the location of the city's original settlement. A roughly 65-foot wall dating from the Gallo-Roman period was discovered in Paris this summer beneath a hotel on the Ile de la Cite, a stone's throw from Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of the City of Light. The stone-and-wood find is thought to be a fragment of the ramparts of Lutetia -- the ancient name for Paris -- built by the Gallic Parisii tribe which lived along the river Seine in the Iron Age. The Ile de la Cite has traditionally been regarded as the center of Lutetia, but a rival theory, backed by archaeological research, contends that it was in Nanterre, a suburb to the west. "We may be looking at one of the most important remains ever discovered for understanding Gallic Lutetia," Culture Minister Catherine Pegard said in a statement from her ministry which was sent to AFP. Paris Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire visits an archaeological site following the discovery of a Gallo-Roman era wall of Lutetia under the Hotel-Dieu hospital on the Ile de la Cite in centra...