Download Building the Roman Roads

2/25/2015
Discovery Education Techbook: Geography and Economy of Ancient Rome
10.1 Geography and Economy of Ancient Rome
How did geography and trade routes impact the growth of Rome?
Engage
Building the Roman Roads
Read this fictional story about a young Roman soldier in the year 300 BCE:
Gaius was frustrated. He had recently become a soldier in the Roman army and was looking forward to
his first battle. Gaius knew that the Roman army had defeated people all over the Italian peninsula. He
couldn’t wait for a chance to show off his fighting skills.
When the time came, though, instead of fighting, Gaius’s legion (the group of soldiers he was supposed
to fight with) was assigned to build roads. The work was hot, boring, and difficult. They laid down layers of
sand, rock, and even concrete to create the roads. They also had to dig drainage ditches along the sides
of the pathways.
Gaius’s commander said the roads were important to ancient Rome because soldiers and messengers
could use them to get from one place to another quickly. Gaius couldn’t believe that building roads could
be as important as fighting, but he was a soldier, so he did what he was ordered to do. Inside, however,
he hoped that he would stop building and get a chance to fight.
Why is Gaius building roads?
What can you learn about ancient Rome from Gaius’s story?
Do you think roads helped ancient Rome to grow and prosper?
In Geography and Economy of Ancient Rome, you will learn where the Roman Empire was located and
how it expanded through conquest and trade.
Essential Question:
How did geography and trade routes impact the growth of Rome?
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