On the trail of Hannibal's army - and elephants - in the Alps

Wed, 06 Jul 2016 17:18:33 -0400

In the third century B.C., during the Second Punic War between the Romans and Carthaginians, Carthaginian general Hannibal led a massive army over the Alps to invade Italy from the supposedly impenetrable north. It is one of the most famously brazen moves in military history, but the exact route that Hannibal’s army — which included tens of thousands of foot soldiers and cavalrymen, thousands of horses and nearly 40 elephants — took through the mountains has long been a mystery. Now, a team has found microbial evidence that a large number of horses crossed the Alps from France into Italy over the 3,000-meter Col de la Traversette pass around 218 B.C. But not everybody is convinced that the Traversette pass route matches detailed historical accounts of Hannibal’s journey.

On Hannibal's Trail: The clues are in the geology

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:41:58 -0500

The Col du Clapier-Savine Coche with Turin (upper left) off in the distance. Edward Boenig, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic

Standing at the summit of one of the Alps’ tallest mountain passes in the fall of 218 B.C., Hannibal peered into enemy territory: Italy’s Po River Valley. The panorama was reassuring. Hannibal’s plan — a sneak attack of the Romans on their own soil — was at last within reach. As his army trudged along a snow-covered path, Hannibal, Carthage’s greatest military leader, used the sight of Italy to encourage his ailing troops to keep going.

Hannibal on EARTH Magazine

On the trail of Hannibal's army - and elephants - in the Alps

On Hannibal's Trail: The clues are in the geology