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Roman road

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: British History 1500 and
before (including Roman Britain)

   A Roman road in Pompeii
   A Roman road in Pompeii
   Road Construction on Trajan's Column
   Road Construction on Trajan's Column

   The Roman roads were essential for the growth of the Roman empire, by
   enabling the Romans to move armies. A proverb says that "all roads lead
   to Rome." Roman roads were designed that way to hinder provinces
   organising resistance against the Empire. At its peak, the Roman road
   system spanned 53,000 miles (85,300 km) and contained about 372 links.

   The Romans, for military, commercial and political reasons, became
   adept at constructing roads, which they called viae (plural of the
   singular term via). The word is related to the English way and weigh,
   as in 'to weigh anchor'. The Indo-European root, *wegh-, with a palatal
   g, becomes *wegh- with a guttural g in the centum languages, including
   Latin. It means "to go" with the sense of transporting in a vehicle.
   Viae were always intended primarily as carriage roads, the means of
   carrying material from one location to another.

   These long highways were very important in maintaining both the
   stability and expansion of the empire. The legions made good time on
   them, and some are still used millennia later. In late Antiquity these
   roads played an important part in Roman military reverses by offering
   avenues of invasion to the barbarians.

The Roman road system

Types of roads

   Roman roads vary from simple corduroy roads to paved roads using deep
   roadbeds of tamped rubble as an underlying layer to ensure that they
   kept dry, as the water would flow out from between the stones and
   fragments of rubble, instead of becoming mud in clay soils.

   The laws of the Twelve Tables, dated to approximately 450 BC, specify
   that a road shall be 8 feet wide where straight and 16 where curved.
   The tables command Romans to build roads and give wayfarers the right
   to pass over private land where the road is in disrepair. Building
   roads that would not need frequent repair therefore became an
   ideological objective.

   Roman law defined the right to use a road as a servitus, or claim. The
   jus eundi ("right of going") established a claim to use an iter, or
   footpath, across private land; the ius agendi ("right of driving"), an
   actus, or carriage track. A via combined both types of servitutes,
   provided it was of the proper width, which was determined by an
   arbiter. The default width was the latitudo legitima of 8 feet. In
   these rather dry laws we can see the prevalence of the public domain
   over the private, which characterized the republic.

   With the conquest of Italy prepared viae were extended from Rome and
   its vicinity to outlying municipalities, sometimes overlying earlier
   roads. Building viae was a military responsibility and thus came under
   the jurisdiction of a consul. The process had a military name, viam
   munire, as though the via were a fortification. Municipalities,
   however, were responsible for their own roads, which the Romans called
   viae vicinales.

   A via connected two cities. Some links in the network were as long as
   55 miles. The builders always aimed at a regulation width, but actual
   widths have been measured at between 3' 9" and 24'.

   The builders aimed at directional straightness. Many long sections are
   ruler-straight, but it should not be thought that all of them were. The
   Roman emphasis on constructing straight roads often resulted in steep
   grades relatively impractical for most economic traffic; over the years
   the Romans themselves realized this and built longer, but more
   manageable, alternatives to existing roads.

   Viae were generally centrally placed in the countryside. Features off
   the via were connected to the via by viae rusticae, or secondary roads.
   Either main or secondary roads might be paved, or they might be left
   unpaved, with a gravel surface, as they were in North Africa. These
   prepared but unpaved roads were viae glareae or sternendae ("to be
   strewn"). Beyond the secondary roads were the viae terrenae, "dirt
   roads". A road map of the empire reveals that it was laced fairly
   completely with a network of prepared viae. Beyond the borders are no
   roads; however, one might presume that footpaths and dirt roads allowed
   some transport.

Traveling a road

Milestones

   Miliarium (milestone)
   Miliarium (milestone)
   Potaissa Napoca Miliarium

   Before 250 BC, the via Appia, and after 124 BC, most viae, were divided
   into numbered miles by milestones. The words we translate as mile are
   milia passuum, "one thousand of paces", which amounted to about 1620
   yards, 1480 meters. A milestone, or miliarium, was a circular column on
   a solid rectangular base, set two feet into the ground, standing
   several feet high, 20" in diameter, weighing about 2 tons. At the base
   was inscribed the number of the mile relative to the road it was on. In
   a panel at eye-height was the distance to the Roman Forum and various
   other information about the officials who made or repaired the road and
   when. These miliaria are valuable historical documents now. Their
   inscriptions are collected in the volume XVII of the Corpus
   Inscriptionum Latinarum.
   Remains of the miliarium aureum in the Roman Forum.
   Remains of the miliarium aureum in the Roman Forum.

   The Romans had a preference for standardization whenever they could,
   and so Augustus, after becoming permanent commissioner of roads in 20
   BC, set up the miliarium aureum (golden milestone) near the temple of
   Saturn. All roads were considered to begin from this gilded bronze
   monument. On it were listed all the major cities in the empire and
   distances to them. Constantine called it the umbilicus Romae (navel of
   Rome).

   Milestones permitted distances and locations to be known and recorded
   exactly. It wasn't long before historians began to refer to the
   milestone at which an event occurred.

Way stations

   A legion on the march didn't need a way station, as it brought its own
   baggage train (impedimenta) and constructed its own camp (castra) every
   evening at the side of the road. Other officials or people on official
   business, however, had no legion at their service, and so the
   government maintained way stations, or mansiones ("staying places"),
   for their use. Passports were required for identification.

   Carts could travel about 8 miles per day, pedestrians a little more,
   and so each mansio was about 15 to 18 miles from the next one. There
   the official traveller found a complete villa dedicated to his
   refreshment. Often a permanent military camp or a town grew up around
   the mansio.

   Non-official travellers needed refreshment too, and at the same
   locations along the road. A private system of 'inns' or cauponae were
   placed near the mansiones. They performed the same functions but were
   somewhat disreputable, as they were frequented by thieves and
   prostitutes. Graffiti decorate the walls of the few whose ruins have
   been found.

   Genteel travellers needed something better than cauponae. In the early
   days of the viae, when little unofficial existed, houses placed near
   the road were required by law to offer hospitality on demand.
   Frequented houses no doubt became the first tabernae, which were
   hostels, rather than the "taverns" we know today. As Rome grew, so did
   its tabernae, becoming more luxurious and acquiring good or bad
   reputations as the case may be. One of the best hotels was the Tabernae
   Caediciae at Sinuessa on the Via Appia. It had a large storage room
   containing barrels of wine, cheese and ham. Many cities of today grew
   up around a taberna complex, such as Rheinzabern in the Rhineland, and
   Saverne in Alsace.

   A third system of way stations serviced vehicles and animals: the
   mutationes ("changing stations"). They were located every 12-18 miles.
   In these complexes, the driver could purchase the services of
   wheelrights, cartwrights, and equarii medici, or veterinarians. Using
   these stations in chariot relays, the emperor Tiberius hastened 500
   miles in 24 hours to join his brother, Drusus Germanicus, who was dying
   of gangrene as a result of a fall from a horse.

Vehicles

   Roman road of the Fuenfría valley, in the Sierra de Guadarrama, Spain.
   Roman road of the Fuenfría valley, in the Sierra de Guadarrama, Spain.

   Roman law and tradition forbade the use of vehicles in urban areas,
   except in certain cases. Married women and government officials on
   business could ride. The Lex Iulia Municipalis restricted commercial
   carts to night-time access to the city within the walls and within a
   mile outside the walls. Outside the cities, Romans were avid riders and
   rode on or drove quite a number of vehicle types, some of which are
   mentioned here.

   For purposes of description, Roman vehicles can be divided into the
   car, the coach and the cart. Cars were used to transport one or two
   individuals, coaches were used to transport parties, and carts to
   transport cargo.

   Of the cars, the most popular was the carrus ("car"), a standard
   chariot form descending to the Romans from a greater antiquity. The top
   was open, the front closed. One survives in the Vatican. It carried a
   driver and a passenger. A carrus of two horses was a biga; of three
   horses, a triga; and of four horses a quadriga. The tires were of iron.
   When not in use, its wheels were removed for easier storage.

   A more luxurious version, the carpentum, transported women and
   officials. It had an arched overhead covering of cloth and was drawn by
   mules. A lighter version, the cisium, equivalent to our gig, was open
   above and in front and had a seat. Drawn by one or two mules or horses,
   it was used for cab work, the cab drivers being called cisiani. The
   builder was a cisarius.

   Of the coaches, the main stay was the raeda or reda, which had 4
   wheels. The high sides formed a sort of box in which seats were placed,
   with a notch on each side for entry. It carried several people with
   baggage up to the legal limit of 1000 pounds. It was drawn by teams of
   oxen, horses or mules. A cloth top could be put on for weather, in
   which case it resembled a covered wagon.

   The raeda was probably the main vehicle for travel on the roads. Raedae
   meritoriae were hired coaches. The fiscalis raeda was a government
   coach. The driver and the builder were both named a raedarius.

   Of the carts, the main one was the plaustrum or plostrum. This was
   simply a platform of boards attached to wheels and a cross-tree. The
   wheels, or tympana, were solid and were several inches thick. The sides
   could be built up with boards or rails. A large wicker basket was
   sometimes placed on it. A two-wheel version existed. The 4-wheel type
   was the plaustrum maius.

   The military used a standard wagon. Their transportation service was
   the cursus clabularis, after the standard wagon, called a carrus
   clabularius, clabularis, clavularis, or clabulare. It transported the
   impedimenta, or baggage of a military column.

Post offices

   Two postal services were available under the empire, one public and one
   private.

   The Cursus publicus, founded by Augustus, carried the mail of officials
   by relay throughout the Roman road system. The vehicle for carrying
   mail was a cisium with a box, but for special delivery, a horse and
   rider was faster. A relay of horses could carry a letter 500 miles in
   24 hours. The postman wore a characteristic leather hat, the petanus.
   The postal service was a somewhat dangerous occupation, as postmen were
   a target for bandits and enemies of Rome.

   Private mail of the well-to-do was carried by tabellarii, an
   organization of slaves available for a price.

The itinerary

   Tabula Peutingeriana (Southern Italy centered)
   Tabula Peutingeriana (Southern Italy centered)

   The Romans and ancient travelers in general did not use maps. They may
   have existed as specialty items in some of the libraries, but they were
   hard to copy and were not in general use. On the Roman road system,
   however, the traveller needed some idea of where he was going , how to
   get there, and how long it would take. The itinerarium filled this
   need. In origin it was simply a list of cities along a road. It was
   only a short step from lists to a master list. To sort out the lists,
   the Romans drew diagrams of parallel lines showing the branches of the
   roads. Parts of these were copied and sold on the streets. The very
   best featured symbols for cities, way stations, water courses, and so
   on. They cannot be considered maps, as they did not represent
   landforms.

   The Roman government from time to time undertook to produce a master
   itinerary of all Roman roads. Julius Caesar and Mark Antony
   commissioned the first known such effort in 44 BC. Zenodoxus, Theodotus
   and Polyclitus, three Greek geographers, were hired to survey the
   system and compile a master itinerary. This task required over 25
   years. The result was a stone engraved master itinerarium set up near
   the Pantheon, from which travelers and itinerary sellers could make
   copies.

   Another master itinerary, the Itinerarium Provinciarum Antonini Augusti
   (the Antonine Itinerary) is known to have been undertaken in 217 AD. It
   was first printed in 1521 and after many reprintings survives today.
   Another major surviving itinerary is the Tabula Peutingeriana. The
   Ravenna Cosmography dates from the 7th century, but repeats earlier
   material.

   Archaeology has turned up some itinerary material in unexpected places.
   The Cups of Cadiz, four silver cups found by workmen excavating a
   foundation at Bracciano in 1852, are engraved with the names and
   distances of stations between Cadiz and Rome.

   The term itinerary changed meaning over the centuries. In the
   Itinerarium Burdigalense (Bordeaux Pilgrim, 333 AD), the itinerary is a
   description of what route to take to the Holy Land. The Itinerarium
   Alexandri is a list of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Today it
   means either a travel journal or a list of recommended stops.

Construction of a road

The method

   The Romans are believed to have inherited the art of road construction
   from the Etruscans. No doubt the art grew as it went along and also
   incorporated good ideas from other cultures.

   After the architect looked over the site of the proposed road and
   determined roughly where it should go, the agrimensores went to work
   surveying the road bed. They used two main devices, the rod and one
   called the groma, which helped them obtain right angles. The gromatici,
   the Roman equivalent of rod men, placed rods and put down a line called
   the rigor. As they did not possess anything like a transit, an
   architect tried to achieve straightness by looking along the rods and
   commanding the gromatici to move them as required. Using the gromae
   they then laid out a grid on the plan of the road.

   The libratores began their work. Using ploughs and legionaries with
   spades, they excavated the road bed down to bed rock or at least to the
   firmest ground they could find. The excavation was called the fossa,
   "ditch." the depth varied according to terrain.

   The road was constructed by filling the ditch. The method varied
   according to geographic locality, materials available and terrain, but
   the plan, or ideal at which the architect aimed was always the same.
   The roadbed was layered.

   Into the fossa was dumped large amounts of rubble, gravel and stone,
   whatever fill was available. Sometimes a layer of sand was put down, if
   it could be found. When it came to within a few feet of the surface it
   was covered with gravel and tamped down, a process called pavire, or
   pavimentare. The flat surface was then the pavimentum. It could be used
   as the road, or additional layers could be constructed. A statumen or
   "foundation" of flat stones set in cement might support the additional
   layers.

   The final steps utilized concrete, which the Romans had exclusively
   rediscovered. They seem to have mixed the mortar and the stones in the
   fossa. First a several-inch layer of coarse concrete, the rudus, then a
   several-inch layer of fine concrete, the nucleus, went onto the
   pavement or statumen. Into or onto the nucleus went a course of
   polygonal or square paving stones, such as you see in the picture,
   called the summa crusta. The crusta was crowned for drainage.

   It is unclear that any standard terminology was used; the words for the
   different elements perhaps varied from region to region. Today the
   concrete has worn from the spaces around the stones, giving the
   impression of a very bumpy road, but the original surface was no doubt
   much closer to being flat. These remarkable roads are resistant to
   rain, freezing and flooding. They needed little repair.

Surpassing obstacles

   The Roman road (from Cazane near Iron Gates) was carved in stone about
   1.5-1.75 m, the rest of the road, above the Danube, was made from
   wooden structure. Roman architects preferred to engineer solutions to
   obstacles rather than circumvent them.
   River Crossing
   River Crossing
   Tabula Traiana over roman road
   Tabula Traiana over roman road

   River crossings were achieved by bridges, or pontes. Single slabs went
   over rills. A bridge could be of wood, stone, or both. Wooden bridges
   were constructed on pilings sunk into the river, or on stone piers.
   Larger or more permanent bridges required arches. Roman bridges were so
   well constructed that many are in use today.

   Causeways were built over marshy ground. The road was first marked out
   with pilings. Between them were sunk large quantities of stone so as to
   raise the causeway 6 feet above the marsh. In the provinces, the Romans
   often did not bother with a stone causeway, but used log roads (pontes
   longi).

   Outcroppings of stone, ravines, or hilly or mountainous terrain called
   for cuttings and tunnels. Roman roads generally went straight up and
   down hills, rather than in a serpentine pattern. Grades of 10%-12% are
   known in ordinary terrain, 15%-20% in mountainous country.

Financing

   Financing road building was a Roman government responsibility.
   Maintenance, however, was generally left to the province. The officials
   tasked with fund raising were the curatores viarum, in which you can
   see the English word, curator. They had a number of methods available
   to them. Private citizens with an interest in the road could contribute
   to its repair. High officials might distribute largesse to be used for
   roads. Censors, who were in charge of public morals and public works,
   were expected to fund repairs sua pecunia (with their own money).
   Beyond those means, taxes were required.

   The beauty and grandeur of the roads might tempt us to believe that any
   Roman citizen could use them for free, but this was not the case. Tolls
   abounded, especially at bridges. Often they were collected at the city
   gate. Freight was made heavier still by import and export taxes. These
   were only the charges for using the roads. Costs of services on the
   journey went up from there.

Some Roman roads

   There are many examples of roads that still follow the route of Roman
   roads.

Albania / Greece / Turkey

     * Via Egnatia ( 146 BC) connecting Dyrrhachium to Byzantium via
       Thessaloniki

France

     * Via Aquitania, from Narbonne, where it connected to the Via
       Domitia, to the Atlantic Ocean across Toulouse and Bordeaux,
     * Via Domitia ( 118 BC), from Nimes to the Pyrenees, where it joins
       to the Via Augusta at the Col de Panissars.

Italy

   Map of Roman roads in Italy
   Map of Roman roads in Italy

major roads

     * Via Aemilia, from Ariminum to Piacenza
     * Via Appia, the Appian way ( 312 BC), from Rome to Apulia ( Puglia)
     * Via Aurelia ( 241 BC), from Rome to France
     * Via Cassia, from Rome to Tuscany
     * Via Flaminia ( 220 BC), from Rome to Ariminum
     * Via Salaria, from Rome to the Adriatic Sea (in the Marches)

others

     * Via Aemilia Scaura ( 109 BC)
     * Via Aquillia, branches off the Appia at Capua to the sea at Vibo
     * Via Amerina, from Rome to Ameria and Perusia
     * Via Claudia Julia Augusta ( 13 BC)
     * Via Clodia, from Rome to Tuscany forming a system with the Cassia
     * Via Domitiana, coast road from Naples to Formia.
     * Via Julia Augusta ( 8 BC), exits Aquileia.
     * Via Labicana, southeast from Rome, forming a system with the
       Praenestina
     * Via Ostiensis, from Rome to Ostia
     * Via Postumia ( 148), from Verona across the Apennines to Genoa
     * Via Popilia ( 132 BC), two distinct roads, one from Capua to
       Rhegium and the other from Ariminum through the later Veneto
       region, possibly to Pula in Istria
     * Via Praenestina, from Rome to Praeneste
     * Via Severiana, Terracina to Ostia
     * Via Traiana Nova (Italy), from Lake Bolsena to the Via Cassia.
       Known by archaeology only.

                Most Roman roads were named after the censor who ordered
                their construction or reconstruction. The same person
                often served afterward as consul, but the road name is
                dated to his term as censor. If the road was older than
                the office of censor or was of unknown origin, it took the
                name of its destination or of the region through which it
                mainly passed. A road was renamed if the censor ordered
                major work on it, such as paving, repaving or rerouting.

Trans-Alpine roads

   These roads connected modern Italy and Germany
     * Via Claudia Augusta ( 47) from Altinum (now Venice) to Augsburg via
       the Reschen Pass
     * Via Mala from Milan to Lindau via the San Bernardino Pass
     * Via Decia

Romania

   Roman roads along the Danube
   Roman roads along the Danube
     * Trajan's bridge and Iron Gates road.
     * Potaissa Napoca road.

Spain

     * Iter ab Emerita Asturicam, from Sevilla to Gijón. Later known as
       Vía de la Plata (plata means "silver" in Spanish, but in this case
       it is a false cognate of an Arabic word), part of the fan of the
       Way of Saint James. Now it is the A-66 freeway.
     * Via Augusta, from Cádiz to the Pyrénées, where it joins to the Via
       Domitia at the Coll de Panissars, near La Jonquera. It passes
       through Valencia, Tarragona (anciently Tarraco), and Barcelona.

United Kingdom

     * Akeman Street
     * Dere Street
     * Ermine Street
     * Fen Causeway
     * Fosse Way
     * King Street
     * London-West of England Roman Roads
     * Peddars Way
     * Stane Street
     * Stanegate
     * Via Devana
     * Watling Street

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