The Romans built a vast network of roads to connect the various parts of their extensive empire. Symbols of Roman conquest, the roads eased the movement of armies, military supplies, and governmental couriers. The roads also offered a means for moving goods from one part of the empire to another, as well as a convenient way for merchants, peddlers, and peasants to travel to the markets. Sections of some ancient Roman roads can still be seen today and are still in use.
The oldest and longest Roman road was the Appian Way, which was begun in the late 300s B.C. The Appian Way started in Rome and ran 360 miles southeast to the city of Brundisium on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. By the A.D. 100s, the Roman empire had more than 50,000 miles of paved highway and about 200,000 miles of secondary roads. This extensive Roman road network was extremely well constructed. Several former Roman provinces* did not have such fine roads again until the late 1800s.
Although the Etruscans, who developed an advanced culture in Italy prior to the rise of Rome, also built roads, only short stretches of their roads survived. Portions of Roman roads still exist because of the careful surveying and building techniques used by Roman engineers. The most durable roads—and the most expensive to build and maintain—were called deep roads. A deep road was set on a foundation about 3 to 41/2 feet in depth, which prevented the pavement from sinking and forming depressions. A trench was carefully smoothed and leveled out, and large, rounded stones were set in place. Over this foundation, road builders placed a layer of smaller stones that were sometimes held in place by cement. Gravel, cobbles (small, slightly rounded pieces of stone), or massive square paving stones formed the road surface (pavimentum in Latin). The road surface was slightly arched to help drain the roadway, and ditches were constructed beside the road. Major roads were at least 8 feet wide, while important intersections might be 14 or 18 feet wide.
* province overseas area controlled by Rome
Roads that led into Rome expanded to a width of 30 feet as they neared the city gates.
Construction methods varied from one region of the empire to another. In some areas of Asia Minor, for example, paving stones were placed directly on the ground. Minor roads often consisted solely of a layer of gravel. Roman engineers constructed bridges that were as well built as their roads. If a bridge was not really needed (because the river was low in the dry season), the engineers paved the river bottom with flat stones.
Wherever possible, Roman roads were straight. Surveyors laid out a course by taking sightings from one high point of land to the next. In level areas, surveyors used smoke from fires to take sightings. Milestones, which were placed every 95 yards, marked the distance from the starting place of the road. In the provinces, milestones were used to mark the distance between one town and the next. Often the name of the builder of the road and the date of completion were inscribed on the marker.
The cost of building and maintaining roads was enormous. Latin inscriptions indicate that the cost of repairing a Roman road on the Italian peninsula in the A.D. 100s was the staggering sum of 30,000 denarii per mile. Major road repairs, regularly done, may have cost Rome a quarter as much as supplying her vast army. During the Roman Republic*, censors* were responsible for roads. They gave contracts to bidders, who in turn hired workers for road construction and repair. Roads required large numbers of workers, from engineers and skilled stonemasons to unskilled peasants and stone breakers. Many worked involuntarily for little or no pay. During the Roman Empire, convicts and slaves were widely used as road construction crews. (See also Architecture, Roman; Construction Materials and Techniques; Transportation and Travel.)
* Roman Republic Rome during the period from 509 B.C. to 31 B.C., when popular assemblies annually elected their governmental officials
* censor Roman official who conducted the census, assigned state contracts for public projects (such as building roads), and supervised public morality