Roman road: description, history, features and interesting facts

The ancient Roman roads covered not only Rome itself, but also its huge empire. First they appeared in Italy, and then their construction was conducted in different parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. The created network connected any point of the empire. Initially, it was intended exclusively for the military, but in peacetime, couriers and trade caravans moved around it, which was extremely important for the whole society. The ancient roads were used for many centuries even after the fall of the great empire.

Monument of antiquity

Unique for its time, the quality of Roman roads was the result of state supervision of their construction. Already the laws of the twelve tables (dating back to the fifth century BC) determined the uniform width of the paths and obliged the people who lived next to them to enclose their plots.

Each Roman road was paved with a stone, so it was convenient for travelers and horses. For the first time censor Appius Claudius Cicus resorted to this construction technique. At his direction at the end of the IV century BC. E. A road was built between Capua and Rome. By the time the republic became an empire, the whole of the Apennine peninsula was covered by this important transport network.

Appia Road has established a connection between Rome proper and the overseas countries, later becoming provinces of the empire: Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt. Today, along the remains of the ancient highway, there are various monuments of the past. These are aristocratic villas used by the Jews and Christians of the catacomb. Next to them live the medieval fortifications and towers, as well as the buildings of the Italian Renaissance.

Flowering and Decay

Every new Roman road received its name by the name of the censor, under which it was built, or by the name of the province. Only those paths that were located on the urban territory or on the approaches to them were built. The rest of the network was covered with rubble, sand and gravel, materials that were mined in special quarries.

At the top of the might of the ancient empire, the Roman roads in total were about 100 thousand kilometers long. It was thanks to them that the state received significant revenues from domestic land trade. With the help of merchants economic expansion was carried out. Mediterranean goods now fell into those regions where they were not even dreamed of. Ancient Roman roads helped to transport both Iberian wine and Numidian cereals.

In the III century the empire was under the blow of numerous barbarian tribes. First, the pagan armies plundered only the border regions. However, when the power of the emperors weakened, the hordes began to penetrate even to Italy. Any Roman road that was on their way, facilitated the barbarians raid, as in time to the Latin legions themselves. When the empire collapsed, the construction of new roads ceased. In the "barbarian kingdoms" of the early Middle Ages, many engineering structures of the Romans were abandoned and forgotten.

Ancient Tricks

In the Roman state there was a special position of surveyor. These people were busy marking the route of the future road. To facilitate this work, special tools were used. Among them were long rulers, the similarities of the goniometers, triangular diopters necessary for determining the height and alignment.

The roads passing through the crossed terrain were built with a reduced inclination for the convenience and safety of travelers. At the turns the gauge became wider. This was done so that the carts that were opposite each other had the opportunity to miss without incident.

Course of construction

Every Roman road began with the fact that in its place all the shoots and any bushes were cut down. After the geodetic calculations and measurements, marking was done. Then followed the design, which carried out the engineers. In the construction involved slaves, prisoners or soldiers. Among them were stonecutters, which cut down special slabs, laid in the foundation of roads.

Construction was carried out simultaneously at different sites located at a distance from each other. The road consisted of several layers and therefore rose slightly above the flat terrain. If the route ran through the hills, workers could build special embankments and ditches. Artificial elevations and depressions helped to make the transport artery smooth and comfortable. When the threat of sedimentation of the old Roman roads were equipped with supports.

The foundation consisted of uncut stone blocks. The gaps between them were a simple drainage system (ditches along the roads also dug out ditches). The next layer of sand or gravel was needed to level the surface. On top lay the earth or lime, which was necessary to give the cloth softness. In some cases, the road could be divided into two ways. One was for horses, the other for pedestrians. A similar feature was extremely useful, if the troops used the road.

Mail and security

In ancient Rome there was the most perfect postal service for that time. Couriers who used the network of roads, quickly spread news and messages to the most diverse parts of a huge empire. For a day they could cross the path of 75 kilometers, which was an incredible achievement for the ancient era. As a rule, couriers rode on wagons loaded to the top with boxes. If the message was urgent, the postal servant could drive him separately on horseback.

To emphasize their status, couriers wore special headdresses made of leather. Their service was dangerous, since robbers could attack the travelers. Along the roads were built guard posts. The military followed the order on the roads. Some camps gradually grew in fortresses and even small towns.

Restaurants and taverns

Long travel could not do without rest. To this end, state builders built night stations. They were located about 15 kilometers apart. The horses also changed there. Even more comfortable, but rare were inns and taverns. In them, travelers could buy useful things on the road, which were sold by a blacksmith or a squire.

Some taverns (especially in remote provinces) enjoyed a bad reputation. Then the travelers could spend the night with the locals. It is known that in the Roman society was accepted the ubiquitous custom of hospitality. In addition to inns, on the roads barns and warehouses could get caught. They were ruled by a special service responsible for supplying the cities with food.

Bridges

Like the most famous Roman road (Appiyeva, leading from the capital to Capua), almost all other roads were erected in the direct direction. The builders avoided the marshes. If the route followed the river, the designers tried to find a ford. However, the Roman bridges also differed in quality, and some of them (like the Trajanov Bridge across the Danube) have even survived to this day.

During the war, the authorities could specifically destroy the river crossing to prevent the enemy from penetrating deep into the territory of the empire. But even in this case, the previous supports remained, and later the bridges quickly recovered. A characteristic feature of their structure were the arches. Wooden bridges were more fragile, but cheaper.

Some ferries differed in mixed construction. Supports could be stone, and flooring - wooden. This was the bridge in Trier, on the border of the empire with Germany. It is characteristic that today in the German city only antique stone supports were preserved. To overcome too wide rivers, pontoon bridges were used. There was also the practice of arranging a ferry service.

Maps with an antique road network

During the reign of the Emperor Caracalla in the beginning of the III century, Ithneraria Antonina was compiled-an index book in which not only all the roads of the empire were listed, but also their distances, as well as other curious data. Since the construction of Roman roads continued in subsequent years, the collection was rewritten and supplemented several times.

Many ancient maps were subsequently kept for centuries in monastic libraries throughout Western Europe. In the XIII century, an unknown author made a parchment copy of such an ancient document. The artifact was called the Peitinger table. The 11-page roll depicts the entire Roman empire and the network of its roads on top of its grandeur.

There is no doubt that trade routes served for ancient people as a source of knowledge about the complete mysteries of the world. On the famous table, it was around the roads that the names of various tribes populated huge expanses from Africa to England and from India to the Atlantic Ocean.

Public roads

There are a lot of sources about how the Roman roads were built. Such, for example, are the works of Siculus Flac - the famous ancient land surveyor. In the empire, the roads were divided into three types. The first were called public, or praetorian. Such paths connected the largest and most important cities.

Public roads, which had a width of up to 12 meters, were built by the state on treasury funds. To finance their construction, temporary taxes were sometimes introduced. In this case taxes were imposed on the cities to which these roads of the Roman Empire led. It also happened that the route ran through land belonging to large and rich owners (for example, aristocrats). Then these citizens also paid the tax. The public roads had guardians - officials, who monitored the state of the canvas and were responsible for its repair.

Country and private roads

From the wide public roads were branch roads (the second type, according to the ancient classification). These paths connected the surrounding villages with the civilization. They accounted for the bulk of the imperial transport network. Their width was 3-4 meters.

The third type of roads were private. They were financed and belonged to individuals. As a rule, such roads were built from a rich estate and adjoined to a common network. They helped wealthy aristocrats to get to the capital faster from their own villas.