Ancient columns found in Italy

TRIESTE, Italy, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Italian archaeologists say they have discovered nine large columns believed to have once lined a key Roman road into the Balkans.

The pillars, dating to the 4th century, were found in a riverbed, near Gorizia in northern Italy, ANSA reported Tuesday. Some bear inscriptions about the emperors during that era of the Roman empire.

''This is an extraordinary find because of the number of columns and the inscriptions they bear,'' local archaeological experts told the Italian news agency.

The columns likely served as milestones along the road from Aquileia to ancient Aemona, which today is the Slovenian capital Ljubjana. It was the main southwest route into Pannonia, which took in most of what is now Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia and Serbia.

At some point, probably after the Empire fell, the pillars were relocated to a bend in the river in which they were found, archaeologists said.