SWEEPING UP AFTER THE PARADE:

Solid evidence in the form of ancient dung microbes, has led Microbiologists to believe that the crossing occurred in the Col de la Traversette pass between France and Italy. The findings, published this week in the journal Archaeometry, may have finally settled this long standing puzzle of history.

One of the astonishing things about Hannibal's crossing of the Alps was that he was able to successfully move such a tremendous number of men and animals over such treacherous, unforgiving terrain. Conditions were likely terrible, and Inadequate clothing coupled with severe weather probably made it a harrowing experience for the average soldier. His army consisted of some 30,000 soldiers, 15,000 horses and at least 37 elephants.

That's right: He guided war elephants from the sunbaked continent of Africa through the snow covered mountains of France and Italy. Imagine the Romans' terror and disbelief at seeing elephants coming down from the mountains, let alone a full army.

Moving that many living things is like moving a city. And it most certainly didn't happen in a day. So like all living things, the soldiers and beasts of war all had to bed down at night, forage for food, and relieve themselves. Now 45,000 mammals--and big ones at that--all loosening their bowels in the same area is going to create a substantial amount of feces. And in this case, it was substantial enough for scientists to find signs of it over 2,000 years later.

Microbiologists Bill Mahaney of York University Toronto and Chris Allen of Queens University Belfast, led an international team of researchers who took to the soil of the Col de la Traversette pass. There, among other faecal biomarkers, they found high amounts of Clostridia, a microbial group that makes up 70 percent of all the microbes present in horse manure. These manure loving microbes were dated to precisely the same time of Hannibal's invasion of Rome, approximately 2,168 years ago. The microbes "Are very stable in soil--surviving for thousands of years," said Allen in a statement.

What's more, the "mass animal deposition" as the researchers are calling it, "lies within a churned-up mass from a 1-metre thick alluvial mire, produced by the constant movement of thousands of animals and humans," said Allen.

In other words, churned up soil doesn't happen naturally 3000 meters up in those frosty environs. It lays in very uniform layers. Together, the mixed up soil, and faecal microbes residing in the Col de la Traversette Pass provide the most compelling evidence yet for one of history's most puzzling events.

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