Roman Roads and Travel

Roman Roads Roman roads were originally built for military needs – to get messengers and troops to all parts of the empire in the shortest amount of time. Eventually they were used for trade and pleasure trips.

All roads lead to Rome This was literally true because mileage was marked off throughout the empire by milestones ( milliaria ) measured from the Golden Milestone ( Milliarum Aureum ) set up by Augustus in the Forum.

The first Roman road, the Appian Way ( Via Appia ), was built by Appius Claudius in 312 B. C. This is the same Appius who built Rome’s first aqueduct.

The Via Appia originally stretched from Rome to Capua (about 150 miles). Later it was extended to Brundisium (about 200 more miles)

Since land inside the city of Rome was valuable, tombs and graves lined the Via Appia for miles near Rome.

Eventually nearly 100, 000 miles of Roman Roads stretched to Egypt, modern-day Iran, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, and England. Many parts of these roads are still used today

Construction Roman roads were built as straight and flat as possible.

Valleys were crossed with arched bridges ;

Hills were traversed with man-made terraces, cuts, or tunnels. Roads on marshy ground were laid on rafts.

When routes had been laid out, parallel ditches 15 to 20 feet apart were dug on both sides of the road. The earth was then dug out between the ditches 5 to 10 feet deep.

Mortar of sand and lime was then laid. On top of this went a layer of large flagstones ( staumen ). Next came a layer of concrete made from lime and gravel ( rudus ). Next came a mixture of the same concrete and pieces of brick (nucleus).

The final pavement ( summum dorsum or summa crusta ) was made of polygonal blocks of flint or basalt. These were fitted together like a puzzle so that often the seams could not be detected.

Road in Pompeii Building a road was similar to building a wall underground, so it is obvious why they have lasted. The center of the road was built slightly higher than the edges for drainage. Road-building was done by Roman soldiers as part of their basic training.

Types of Transportation

Romans avoided travel by sea whenever possible and they seldom sailed in the winter months.

Rome was very noisy at night! No wheeled vehicles were allowed in Roman cities between sunrise and 4:00 p.m. so all deliveries were made in the evenings. Inside the city, wealthy citizens were carried by litters ( lecticae ) or sedan-chairs ( sellae ) carried by slaves.

Most cities had a ring-road (by-pass) just outside the city walls. Outside the city gates a traveler ( viator ) could hire several kinds of vehciles to travel (iter facere ). (The Latin verb veho means “ride”)

* Two passengers – two wheeled – mule-drawn was called a cisium

A wagon with: Four wheels, mule- drawn, covered with room to recline was called a carruca. Four wheeled, mule- drawn, with room for many passengers and luggage was called a raeda.

Two large spoked wheels – removable sides – often pulled by oxen – used for hauling freight was called a carrus.

Two large, solid wheels – used for hauling produce – often pulled by oxen was called a plaustrum. Four wheels – pulled by oxen – heavy- duty freight was called a sarracum.

Most Roman travelers could average about 5 miles per hour. A person in a cart would average 25 miles of travel on a good day Highway men and robbers were common.

A messenger with a change of horses might travel 50 miles in a day.

Accomodations Most inns were dirty (livestock usually slept under the same roof) and dangerous (fires and robbers).

Many wealthy Romans maintained little houses ( mansiones ) were they could spend the nights Families would often have hospes (guest- friends) in different cities. They would agree to give each other shelter, similar to a time-share today. Hospes in Latin can be translated guest or host, depending on the circumstance.