Roman Roads
14:57 Share

When we look at history, we tend to focus on grand things like great leaders and great battles. In reality, what makes for successful empires is often the mundane. Stable laws and uncorrupt civil service, or for large, sprawling empires, a system of roads. Roads were one of the secrets to the success of Rome, and they proved useful for centuries even after the empire's fall. Learn more about Roman roads and how they linked together a vast empire on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

This episode is sponsored by NerdWallet. When it comes to general knowledge and history, you know I've got you covered. But who do you turn to when you need smart financial decisions? If your answer is NerdWallet, then you're absolutely right. And if it's not, let me change your mind.

The nerds at NerdWallet have spent thousands of hours researching and reviewing over 1,300 financial products. And they have the tools you need to make smarter financial decisions. Looking for a credit card? Go beyond the basic comparisons, filter for features that matter to you, and read in-depth reviews. Ready to choose a high-yield savings account? Get access to exclusive deals and compare rates, bonuses, and more. How's hunting? View today's top mortgage rates for your home sweet home.

Make the Nerds your go-to resource for smart financial decisions. Head to nerdwallet.com forward slash learn more. NerdWallet, finance smarter. Disclosure, NerdWallet Compare Incorporated NMLS 1617539. Ryan Reynolds here from Intmobile. With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down.

down. So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mint Mobile, unlimited premium wireless. How did they get 30, 30, how did they get 30, how did they get 20, 20, 20, how did they get 20, 20, how did they get 15, 15, 15, 15, just 15 bucks a month? Sold! Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. $45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes each detail. The Romans were not what I would call a technically sophisticated civilization.

There are very few technical advancements or inventions that were made during the almost 2,000 years of Rome in its various iterations. There were some agricultural innovations, especially with plows. Aqueducts, often thought of as Roman, were actually developed by the Etruscans and Greeks. That being said, the Romans were excellent engineers. If there was one thing they did really well, at least by ancient standards, it was building.

Their structures can still be found scattered throughout Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa 2,000 years after they were built. Roman baths were enormous structures with advanced water management and large-scale water heating. The baths of Diocletian and Caracalla can still be seen in Rome today. Amphitheaters such as the Colosseum in Rome and theaters like the well-preserved one in Orange, France can still be visited. All the temples and structures are what draw tourists today, and they serve as visible symbols of Rome.

However, they were not necessarily the most important things the Romans built. That distinction belongs to Roman roads. Roads are not sexy, but they are vitally important. When I first started this podcast, I did an episode that was an overview of Roman roads. In this episode, I want to do a more deep dive to explain exactly what the Romans did to build their roads.

Before I start, I should address the old saying that says, all roads lead to Rome. The statement isn't quite true, and it also really doesn't mean very much. It actually started in the Middle Ages with a French poem. All roads in the Roman Empire didn't technically lead to Rome simply because they couldn't cross the Bosphorus Strait. There wasn't a bridge across the Bosphorus that was built until 1973. However, on either side of the Bosphorus, all of the Roman roads were largely connected.

And that means you could go from modern day Portugal to Turkey, and from Turkey all the way around the Mediterranean to at least Algeria and perhaps as far as the Atlantic coast in Morocco. So what made Roman roads so special? And how and why were they built? It all started with surveying. As the roads were designed to move troops and goods as quickly as possible between two points, the Romans tended to build their roads as straight as possible.

Modern-day highways usually go around an obstacle simply because it's cheaper and faster than going through or over it. There are some exceptions, but constructing a gradual bend in a road is more efficient in terms of time and money than trying to build a tunnel or a bridge. The Romans didn't subscribe to that philosophy. They would usually dig a tunnel, make a road cut, or build a bridge rather than circumvent something. If they did have to go around something, they would usually make a very sharp turn in the road to get right back to the straightaway as soon as possible.

Because the speeds they were traveling at were walking speed or at best a galloping horse, they could get away with this. The primary survey tool they used was called a groma. A groma was designed to create straight lines and right angles. It consisted of a straight pole that was put into the ground with a single horizontal arm on the top. From the end of the horizontal arm was a cross with four arms almost looking like a mobile that you'd hang over a child's crib. Each of the four arms had a weighted plumb bob attached by string.

The surveyors, known in Latin as agrumensores, used the groma to ensure that the roads would remain straight over long distances. Another group, known as the gromaticae, would post rods along the path determined by the agrumensores to outline the road. Once the route was determined, the next step was to start excavation.

Most of the labor to construct a Roman road was usually done by Roman legions. It was a way to keep them occupied when they weren't actively on campaign, and they were also pretty good at construction. The excavation is what separated a Roman road from a simple path. First, they would plow the ground to loosen it up, and then a team, again usually of legionaries, would begin removing the soil. They would dig down several feet until they reached either bedrock or at least some soil that was very firm.

The excavated road was called a fossa, which is Latin for ditch. What came next depended on where the road was being built and what local materials were available. They would start to fill in the trench with large pieces at the bottom. This base would mostly be stones and broken pieces of brick and was called the statumen. This layer would be between 25 to 60 centimeters or about 10 to 24 inches thick.

On top of the large pieces of rubble would go larger pieces that would be mixed to form a very coarse concrete aggregate. This was known as the rudus. It would be about 20 centimeters or 8 inches thick. On top of that would be another layer of concrete with fine aggregate consisting of sand or gravel. This would be about 30 centimeters or 12 inches. This was known as the nucleus. The concrete was always Roman concrete, which was made out of a special volcanic ash known as pozzolana.

Finally, on top of that would be the last layer known as the Sumum Dorsum. This layer consisted of close-fitting paving stones known as pavimentum. There was more to the road than just these layers. For starters, the top layer was crowned ever so slightly so that the middle of the road was its highest point. This was to allow drainage of water and prevent water from pooling on the road.

On the sides of the road were drainage ditches which were also usually lined with stone. The stones were vertical and created a barrier to help channel the water. It served as the functional equivalent of a curb in a modern street. On the sides of the road would often be gravel-lined paths which were used for pedestrians. The width of a Roman road varied depending on the location and the amount of traffic it had to support. There were some roads that would be the equivalent of a single-lane road, and there were others that could support multiple carriages that were all abreast.

If a road was crossing land that was marshy, they would often build a causeway over it. The causeways were built by either piling up a great deal of rock or by using upright wooden logs, depending on the location. Every Roman mile, about 5,000 Roman feet, there would be a milestone. Milestones usually mark the distance to or from the next destination, but some have been found that just had the emperor's name at the time of construction.

There were roughly two types of non-military travel along the roads. These were known as Cursus Rapidi and Ignare. Cursus Rapidi was a type of express service and Ignare was a type of freight service. The type of vehicle that you would find on the road could be a two-wheeled chariot, a two-wheeled cart in rural areas, or a four-wheeled Raida. Raida for fast transit may have had eight horses but would be limited by weight to about 750 pounds or 340 kilograms.

Most freight could travel at a rate of about 15 miles or 24 kilometers a day. One of the most important uses of the roads was to send information. The speed that information could be sent in the ancient world was limited to the speed of a horse or a ship. Official state couriers would travel on horseback and make use of rest stops known as mansions. Riders would go from rest house to rest house and switch horses along the way.

These couriers were the Roman equivalent of the pony express. By changing horses frequently, a courier could travel as much as 75 miles or 120 kilometers a day. According to legend, Emperor Tiberius once traveled 215 miles in a single day in order to be at the side of his brother Drusus who had been injured. That averages out to only 9 miles an hour if you rode the entire 24 hours without rest. And that is possible.

By the second century, the empire had approximately 80,000 kilometers or 50,000 miles of paved Roman roads. And to put that into perspective, the United States has only about 47,000 miles of interstate highway. In addition to paved roads, there was an additional 400,000 kilometers or 250,000 miles of unpaved roads. Streets and cities were designed very similarly to the roads that crossed the empire. However, there were some differences.

Streets and cities were often filled with filth and water. If you ever visit the ruins of Pompeii in Italy, you'll notice that they have raised stones right in the middle of the street. These are there so people could cross the street without actually having to step in the street. So what was the point of this highly elaborate and expensive system of roads? The road system was the thing that tied together such a large empire.

Roads helped integrate diverse regions into the Roman state by enhancing mobility, trade, and communication. This integration was essential for maintaining control over the empire's vast territories. By boosting trade and allowing more efficient exploitation of resources, roads contribute significantly to the economic prosperity of Rome. The ease of travel facilitated by the roads helped spread Roman culture, laws, and language, aiding the process of Romanization of conquered peoples.

However, the most important reason for the roads was the military. The roads were often termed via militaris, or Roman roads during the Republic because they allowed quick and efficient movement of military forces, which were crucial in both expanding and defending Roman territory. A legion could move about 20 miles a day marching on the roads. That allowed Roman military force to move wherever necessary in the empire should the need arise.

Surprisingly, we have a pretty good idea of the layout of the roads in the empire simply due to a single source, the Tabula Putingerana. Also known as Putinger's Table, it's an illustrated road map of the Roman world dating back to the 4th or 5th century, but surviving only in a medieval copy made around the 13th century. All of the time, effort, and money put into the construction of these roads paid off. While the roads did require some maintenance, they were extremely durable.

Unlike Roman temples and amphitheaters, which became relics and museum pieces, the roads were used for centuries long after Rome was gone. Arguably, Roman roads were the best-designed roads in the world up until the 19th century. Some roads originally created by the Romans were used as major routes up until the development of the automobile.

Even today, in some places such as the Via Flamina on the Italian peninsula and the Fosse Way in Britain, they're still used for walking and cycling. While the materials have changed, modern roadmaking still uses many of the techniques that were first developed by the Romans. Modern roads use the layered technique and have roads that are slightly crowned to manage water. Roads were not just one of Rome's greatest innovations, but they were largely responsible for its success.

They allowed the empire to respond to military challenges, send information quickly, and contributed to its economic prosperity. They were built so well that they're one of the only things still being used today for its original purpose almost 2,000 years after they were constructed. The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Kiefer.

I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every single day. And also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters. If you'd like to talk to other listeners of the show and members of the Completionist Club, you can join the Everything Everywhere daily Facebook group or Discord server. Links to everything are in the show notes.