The findings, dating back to the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, were unearthed during the construction of the fast-food outlet in 2014.

They have now been presented for public viewing at the store.

The 40-metre stretch of road is believed to be part of a side road off the famed Appian Way, archaeologists said.

Named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman censor who completed the first section as a military road to the south in 312 BC, the Appian Way was one of the earliest and most strategically significant ancient Roman roads, connecting Rome to Brindisi.

With ANSA