Transcript roman roads - Planet

Viae Romana, Roman Roads
Wes Bemus
Mr. Palmer’s Latin 1
A-3
• One of the things that allowed the Romans to
build their empire into what it was was their
ability to interconnect the cities under their
control.
• A roman road was an efficient, quick and
sturdy way to do this.
• As time wore on they grew more and more
technologically advanced and sophisticated.
• In the end the roman roads would last for
longer than the empire itself and some still
exist and are in use today.
• The construction of these roads were meant to be solid and
stable and to last for eons.
• A team of workers would first plot out where the road was
to go.
• They would then dig a square trench 3 feet deep and 5 feet
wide
• This would be filled 1/3 of the way with large scale gravel
so that any rain water would collect here and then leech
out, thus not undermining the foundation of the road
• On top of this, ¼ of the ditch would be a layer of dirt to
separate that layer with the layers above it
• This would be covered with a layer of smaller gravel of
similar depth (1/4th) to promote even greater structural
stability.
• Finally, the last ditch would be filled to the brim with
concrete and paving stones (usually large flat rocks of
similar composition) would be paid in this to create a flat
and even roadbed for people to travel on.
• At the edge of this roadbed would be laid “Kerb”
stones which were large stones that would rise 6 or
so inches above the roadbed.
• The purpose of these were for channeling water
along the edge of the road to drainage cisterns
buried at intervals along the road.
• Travelers could collect water from this which they
could boil and use for drinking water.
• This is where we get the English word “Curb” from
• These roads were so stable
and usable that lines of
traffic could travel in either
direction at the same time
without interfering with the
other.
• Roman roads were
phenomenally successful and
allowed Rome to build their
empire to the size that it
became.
• It was said that at the height
of the roman empire you
could travel from one side of
the empire to the other by
horse in 14 days or less.
• A large number of them are
still usable today and are in
better condition than the
other roads in the area.
Bibliography
• http://www.unrv.com/culture/romanroads.php
• http://www.unrv.com/culture/roman-roadconstruction.php
• http://historylink102.com/Rome/romanroads.htm