Venice could be 200 years older than previously thought, according to archaeologists who discovered peach stones under the mosaic floor of Saint Mark's Basilica. The 1,300-year-old stones could add 180 years to the age of the city according to an archaeologist who described the discovery as like 'hitting the jackpot'.

Peach stones grow in just one year which makes them perfect for carbon dating and experts believe they could prove there was a city in Venice before the construction of the first Basilica in the 9th century.