Ancient Roman Roads Facts: How The Romans Revolutionized Road Travel

Roads built by Romans have aided the contemporary world in a variety of ways.

Roads allowed the Romans to develop in trade, enhance mail services, and convey their armies to where they needed to battle. The Romans built new routes to connect captured cities with Rome and establish them as colonies as the soldiers blazed a trail through Europe.

These routes not only allowed the Roman troops to outrun and outmaneuver their foes, but they also benefited from the Empire's day-to-day operations. The Appian Way was one of Rome's longest highways.

The Via Appia (Appian Way), built by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 BCE, initially went 162 mi (261 km) southeast from Rome to Tarentum (now Taranto) and Brundisium, on the Adriatic coast, and was later extended (now Brindisi).

The expedition took around 13 days to accomplish this direct route. For its day, the Appian Path was groundbreaking. It was the first Roman road to employ lime cement and was paved with big 'Basoli,' basalt rock in a polygonal design.

If you like this article, you may find it interesting to read other fun facts articles on Ancient Roman fun facts and Ancient Roman food facts, here on Kidadl.

Construction Of Roman Roads

The Roman road system was a remarkable ancient Mediterranean transportation network from the Danube River through Spain and northern Africa spanned from Britain to the Tigris-Euphrates river system. The Romans constructed a total of 50,000 mi (80,000 km) of hard-surfaced roadway, mostly for military purposes.

Roman Britain was the time in ancient antiquity when the Roman Empire occupied vast areas of Great Britain (Roman conquest).

The straight line and quality of the Roman roads were legendary. The Romans were proficient in road construction, which they termed viae, for military, commercial, and political purposes.

As the Roman Army needed to be able to travel swiftly to difficult spots in order to keep the Britons under control, improved roads were required.

The proposed route for the effective overland movement of troops, authorities, and people, as well as interior transportation of official messages and commercial items. Small local roads to vast, long-distance highways created to connect cities, significant towns, and military posts were all used by the Romans.

An ancient Roman road was usually between 18-19.6 ft (5.5-6 m) wide, and it was made up of numerous distinct load-bearing layers, regardless of the base on which it was built.

The strata of ancient Roman roads were as follows:

Foundation Dirt - the soil used to create a road was compacted to prevent structural settlement and then coated with sand or plaster.

Statumen — a crushed rock layer with a minimum granularity of 0.16 ft (5 cm) that was deposited on compacted foundation dirt. The thickness of this stratum varied between 0.8-1.9 ft (25-60 cm).

Rudus – a 0.6 ft (20 cm) thick layer of crushed rock with a diameter of 0.16 ft (5 cm) set in cement mortar.

Nucleus — a 0.98 ft (30 cm) thick concrete base layer comprised of cement, sand, and gravel surface.

The last layer is the summum dorsum, which is made up of enormous 0.49 ft (15 cm) thick rock slabs.

Main Roman Roads

The Roman engineers used essentially the same concept in building main roads as they did in Italy, albeit they adapted their approach to the materials available locally. They began the Via Egnatia in 145 BCE, a continuation of the Via Appia over the Adriatic into Greece and Asia Minor, where it connected with the old Persian Royal Road.

A few more roads traveled from Rome at the beginning of the second century BC: Via Aurelia, Via Flaminia, Via Aemilia, Via Valeria, Via Latina, and Via Appia. Many minor roads and trails were created alongside these main highways, allowing Roman provinces to reach Rome.

Straight roads, sturdy foundations, cambered surfaces to aid marshy ground, and concrete constructed from pozzolana (volcanic ash) and lime were all features of Roman roads.

Road Design And Materials

The typical width of major roman roads was 13.7 ft (4.2 m), which allowed two-wheeled vehicles to pass each other. There are three levels to a Roman road: a stone-based bottom foundation layer, a layer of softer material, such as sand or marble, is in the center.

A 'metalling' surface, which is normally gravel but can also be paving small stones. A trench was dug first, and a foundation (rudus) was placed between curb stones using rough marble, crushed brick, clay materials, or even wooden piling in swampy locations.

They are the paved roads with blocks or slabs, and a layer of finer gravel (nucleus) was laid on top of it (summum dorsum).

Mountain roads may also feature ridges running across the surface to provide greater traction for humans and animals, as well as ruts carved into the stone to guide wheeled vehicles.

At regular intervals or milestones were also placed, and these frequently noted who was responsible for the preservation of that piece of road, as well as what repairs had been performed.

Bridges, Viaducts, And Tunnels

The many arched bridges and viaducts that still survive across the empire are living relics of Roman engineers' inventiveness.

River-crossing bridge piers, for example, were frequently built with a more resistant prow-shape and massive, durable stone blocks, while the upper portions were either built of stone blocks reinforced with iron clamps, used less expensive concrete, and brick, or supported a flat wooden superstructure.

Narnia's bridge was maybe the most spectacular. It contained four gigantic semicircular arches, one of which, at 105 ft (32.1 m), ranks as one of the greatest block-arch spans in the ancient world.

The Milvian bridge in Rome (109 BCE) and the bridge over the Tagus River at Alcantara (106 BCE) on the Spanish-Portuguese border are two of the greatest surviving bridges.

If long diversions had to be avoided, tunnels were another necessary aspect of the road network. The most famous are the Cumaea, Cripta Neapolitano, and Grotta di Seiano tunnels, which were built in the first century BCE. Tunnels were frequently constructed by excavating from both ends (counter-excavation), a feat that necessitated meticulous geometry.

The Roman Road Network

Cities and provinces were linked by ancient Roman roadways. Without them, the ancient Romans would never have been able to capture and control such a wide region for so many years - the Roman Empire reached a total area of 1,698,849 mi2 (4,400,000 km2) at its peak.

Over 74,564 mi (120,000 km) of public roads were built, substantially facilitating the free movement of soldiers, people, and products across the empire. Roads were also a visible symbol of Rome's authority, and they helped to integrate what was a large melting pot of cultures, ethnicities, and institutions in an indirect way.

Importance Of Roman Roads

Although the Roman road network eventually faded when the Roman Empire fell, it served as the foundation for hundreds of modern infrastructure routes across Europe and the Middle East. Several old Roman roads crossed through Croatian land, and certain roads are still in use today.

These roads linked towns, cities, and provinces, and without them, the Romans would not have been able to conquer and hold onto such enormous swaths of land for so long. Furthermore, the Romans' engineering and surveying abilities were so advanced that hundreds of modern roads across Europe and the Middle East are based on their roadways.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Ancient Roman roads facts, then why not take a look at Ancient Roman theater facts or Ancient Roman government facts.