4th century BC defensive walls found in southern Italy

Archaeological investigations prior to the reconstruction of the railway station in Manduria, 20 miles east of Taranto in southeastern Italy, revealed a large expanse of defensive wall built by the pre-Italian Messapians in the 4th century BC. The structure is composed of limestone blocks that are precisely worked and dried in an alternating pattern. It is built within a moat surrounding the inner walls of the Old Archaic era defensive walls.

From the 9th century BC to the 3rd century BC, the Messapians lived in what is now Puglia (the heel of the boot in Italy). They formed a highly developed independent city-state and resolutely defended their independence against repeated attacks from the Greek colonies in southern Italy. Manduria was one of the most prosperous cities of Messapia and built complex fortifications to protect itself: a three-ring megalithic wall built between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC

Newly discovered wall sections are expanding our understanding of the complex Mesapia defense system. Its vast defenses were constantly put to the test, most notably when Manduria was besieged by Taras (Taranto) and his Spartan allies in 338 BC. The attempt failed and the Spartan king Archidamus III perished outside these majestic walls. The Romans captured it in 266 BC, but Hannibal besieged it during the Second Punic War in 212 BC and took it from the Romans. The fifth Roman legion, led by former dictator and then consul Quintus Fabius Maximus, reconquered Manduria and Tarantum in 209 BC

Under an agreement with the railway company, the best-preserved parts of the wall will be preserved and displayed in situ. Information panels will educate rail travelers about the city of Mesapia and its walls, connect thematically to ancient Manduria and its infrastructure, and connect visitors to the Mesapia Walls Archaeological Park, a half-mile away.