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HORSE

Ancient horse poo sheds light on Hannibal’s route to Italy

The route taken by Hannibal over the Alps to invade Italy has been a matter of debate for 2,000 years, but scientists may now have the answer - thanks to some ancient horse poo.

Ancient horse poo sheds light on Hannibal's route to Italy
Scientists think they have finally discovered the Alpine pass used by Hannibal to enter Italy. Photo: Wikimedia

More than 15,000 horses and 37 elephants accompanied the 30,000-strong Carthaginian army in a march on the Roman Republic in 218 BC, which sparked years of bloody conflict.
   
Dragging so many men and animals across the Alps was no easy task and historians and classicists have long argued over the exact route Hannibal took.
   
“Now it looks like we may just have cracked it – all thanks to modern science and a bit of ancient horse poo,” said Chris Allen, a microbiologist at Queen's University Belfast.
   
Allen was part of an international team led by Bill Mahaney of York University in Toronto, which uncovered evidence of a mass deposit of animal dung at a narrow mountain pass near the France-Italy border.
   
Located on one of the more treacherous routes that Hannibal is considered to have taken, it is thought the site at the Col de la Traversette could have been used for watering large numbers of cattle.

Carbon isotope analysis dates the deposits to around 200 BC, while the team also found significant evidence of Clostridia microbes, which are commonly found in horse manure.
   
“This may be the first tangible, if unusual, evidence of human/animal activity at the time of Hannibal's invasion of Italia,” the scientists wrote in the journal Archaeometry.
   
“Although we cannot determine conclusively that the evidence pertains to Hannibal, the results are consistent with the passage of large numbers of animals and people,” they added.
   
They said more research was needed into the site, and held out hope that it could yield artefacts such as coins, belt buckles and daggers that would confirm Hannibal's presence.

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DOG

Spanish town hires pet detectives in latest battle against dog poo

In Spain’s latest battle in the war on dog poo, a town near Salamanca has hired private detectives to punish those who fail to clean up after their pets.

Spanish town hires pet detectives in latest battle against dog poo
Detectives have been hired to track down irresponsible dog owners. Photo: Alice Huseyinoglu

This week, Carbajose de la Sagrada, a municipality in Salamanca, has commissioned a special unit of private detectives to monitor dog poo in public spaces, with the hope of raising awareness about the responsibility that comes with owning a pet, and fining guilty dog-walkers.

After the evidence has been collected by these detectives, it will be up to the local police force to press charges and issue fines.

The new initiative has been introduced following a barrage of complaints from citizens about the ‘uncivil’ behaviour of some residents, as well as the failure of previous awareness campaigns to put an end to their repeated crimes.

The mayor of the municipality, Pedro Samuel Martín, met with pet owners a few weeks ago to discuss a solution to the ongoing dilemma. He said he hoped the new measures, following in the footsteps of towns such as Colmenar Viejo, would improve the state of public spaces, and lead to greater 'coexistence' in the town.

This is just the latest attempt by town councils to combat the issue of dog dirt. In 2013, a viral campaign in Brunete, a small town just outside Madrid, saw officials box up waste and mail it back guilty pet owners.

Photo: Depositphotos

The town of Colmenar Viejo, also near Madrid, hired incognito detectives in 2014 to film owners who left their dog's poo lying around, and in 2016, Maslata, near Valencia, ordered residents to register their dog’s DNA through mandatory blood samples, so the owners who failed to clean up after their dogs could be traced.

In a battle to clean up the captial, Madrid's mayor introduced a 2016 law, giving dog poo offenders the choice between a €750 fine or a weekend of cleaning duty.

By Alice Huseyinoglu

READ ALSO: Who stole this huge inflatable turd from a Spanish square?

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