Download roman roads - Nutley Public Schools

ROMAN ROADS
“Roman roads were the most extensive road
network until the 20th century! There are
50,000 miles of Roman roads throughout the
former Empire!”
ROMAN ROADS
• 50,000 miles of Roman roads:
ROMAN ROADS
• Purpose:
– Military: Army could be sent anywhere in the empire
and arrive within six weeks.
– Trade: Romans shipped vast amounts of goods
throughout the empire
– Travel: a person could travel 35 miles a day on foot.
Wealthy people could travel in litters: carried by 6-8
men. Small groups could travel in raedae, carriages.
Messengers could use cisii, small chariots for speedy
travel.
ROMAN ROADS
• Roman mail carriage
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
1) Planning: All Roman roads are laid out in
straight lines. They are laid out in short
straight lengths that follow the terrain.
–
A field engineer with a stakeman aligned the road
with a groma and ran levels with chorobates. Plows
were used to loosen the soils and mark the trench
margins. Workmen dug trenches for the roadbed of 69 feet.
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
• Groma: It was used as a
sighting device for roads,
aqueducts and bridges.The
weights on the end of each
point of the crossbar sights
were to make sure that the
groma was kept
perpendicular to the
ground.
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
• Chorobate: was used
to ensure that
construction was level.
This tool was over 10 feet
long. Water was poured
into the long groove
running down the middle
of the top of the
chorobate indicated when
it was level.
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
• Hodometer: Used to
measure distances. An
elaborate gear assembly
caused a rounded pebble to
fall into a metal bowl after
each mile. The cart also had
special wheels: 4 ft in
diameter and 12.5 ft in
circumference. 400
revolutions made a Roman
mile = 4800 ft.
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
1) First the two parallel trenches were built on either side of
the planned road
-The resulting earthworks, stone, etc., was dumped and built up in the
space between the two ditches. This was called the agger.
-Next, the diggers would make a shallow 8 to 10 foot wide depression
down the length of the agger, and lined the edges with curb stones to
hold the entire construction in place
2) After the trench was dug and leveled, it was tamped down
for firmness.
3) A foundation of lime mortar or sand laid down to form a
level base (pavimentum)
4) Next, stones of about 4-5 inches in diameter were laid
down and cemented together with mortar (statument). This
layer could be 10 in. to 2 feet deep.
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
5) The next course was concrete filled with
shards of pottery or stone about 9-12 in.
deep (rudus).
– On top of this was a concrete made from gravel
or sand and lime poured in layers with each
layer compacted by a roller. This was 1 ft at the
sides and 18 in. in the middle of the road.
– This caused the road to be higher in the middle
which created good drainage.
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
6) The top course (summum dorsum) was formed of
polygonal blocks of stone that were 6 inches or
more thick. These were fitted atop the still moist
concrete.
-these blocks could be removed and turned
over when one side was worn.
7) Curb stones were placed on the sides of the road
to hold paving stones and make a channel for
water to run.
Roman Roads
Road construction depicted on Trajan’s Column
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
• Cross-section of a
Roman road:
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
• Cross-section of a
Roman road:
ROMAN ROADS
I) HOW ROMANS BUILT ROADS
• **All Roman roads employed local material
in their construction. This is why there is no
set pattern of construction.
• **There were ditches on each side of the
road that allowed for drainage and quarry.
ROMAN ROADS
Facts
• Most Roman roads were wide enough to allow two
chariots to pass in either direction
• The 12 Tables (450 BC), specified that roads should be 8ft
wide where straight and 16 ft were curved…however,
roads varied from this standard.
• But, in general, the width of a road depended upon its use.
– Widest Roads: decumanus maximus: could be 40 ft wide!
– Side roads: could be 8 ft wide.
– **In general: the wider the road, the greater its importance.
• The Lex Iulia Municipalis restricted commercial carts to
night-time access to the city within the walls and within a
mile outside the walls.
**Lex Iulia Municipalis: laws introduced by Augustus in 18-17 BC
ROMAN ROADS
Facts
-Country roads were usually about 20 ft wide in order to
allow for passing.
-In town the road widths varied:
Pompeii: main roads: 4 meters (12 ft) wide; side roads
and alleys: 2 meters (6 ft) wide.
**Main roads needed to be wide enough to allow for the
transport of troops and all their supplies.
-Financing road building was a Roman government
responsibility. Maintenance, however, was generally
left to the province.
Roman Roads
Roman carriage reconstruction, Römisch-Germanisches Museum,
Cologne, Germany
ROMAN ROADS
Facts
• Roadside inns existed in the Roman period. They were
strategically placed about a days journey apart. But
many of these inns were not safe: fights and murders
occurred. When possible, travelers stayed with family
or friends. The food was bad, bedding was infested with
lice and other insects, etc.
• Traffic laws: there does not seem to have been a formal
traffic code.
• Milestones were placed at various places along the
road. They were tall stone circular stelae which gave the
mileage to the nearest city, intermediate places and who
paid for the road.
– 123 BC, Gaius Gracchus ordered roads be marked with
stones indicating known distances.
ROMAN ROADS
• Miliarium Aureum - The Zero Milestone
– The reference milestone was the Miliarium Aureum, or
Golden Milestone. Erected by Caesar Augustus in 20
B.C,
– This was the point from which all distances were
measured. The milestone was once covered in gold
(hence its name) and its remnants can be found in the
Forum.
– In the expression all roads lead to Rome, to be more
accurate all roads lead to the Milarium Aureum.
ROMAN ROADS
Famous Roads
• Appian Way: (Via Appia). Most famous of
the Roman roads. Built in 312 BC by
Appius Claudius Caecus. Connected Rome
with Capua and later to Benevento, Taranto
and Brindisi. Total length: 350 miles.
Branch roads led to Naples, Bari and other
ports.
ROMAN ROADS
Famous Roads
• Via Appia:
ROMAN ROADS
Famous Roads
• Flaminian Way: (Via Flaminia): One of the
principal Roman roads. The most important
northern route. From Rome to Cisalpine
Gaul. Begun in 220 BC by Caius Flaminius.
Ran north from Rome to Adriatic Sea.
• Other northern routes: Aurelian Way,
Cassian Way
ROMAN ROADS
Famous Roads
• Via Flaminia
ROMAN ROADS
Famous Roads
• Via Flaminia
ROMAN ROADS
Famous Roads
• Routes across Apennines to the Adriatic
Sea:
– Salarian Way, Valerian Way.
ROMAN ROADS
Famous Roads
• Pompeii Roads:
ROMAN ROADS
Famous Roads
• Pompeii Roads:
Roman Roads
The extent of Roman influence as a result of their roads