India, Sept. 24 -- The recent discovery of an ancient wall in central Paris may confirm the location of the city's original settlement, and was hailed as a "major breakthrough" on Wednesday.

The roughly 20-metre (66 foot) wall was discovered beneath a hospital on the Ile de la Cite , a stone's throw away from Notre Dame Cathedral, AFP cited the French culture ministry as saying. The Ile de la Cite, home to Notre Dame Cathedral, is the largest island in the Seine River in Paris region.

"It's dizzying to find oneself here and to discover what is probably the origin of the city of Paris," the city's mayor Emmanuel Gregoire said on Wednesday, while examining the wall. The wall, which had been buried four metres deep in a courtyard of the Ho...