Roman Roads

Of all the developments in ancient Roman engineering, few can rival the importance of Roman roads. Better known in Latin as Viae, these roads spanned up to 53,000 miles. Most importantly, they were instrumental in the expansion and maintenance of the Roman Empire. For centuries, these roads allowed the vast expanse of Roman territories to remain connected to their one patron city, Rome. They were built using ingenious techqniques and maintained carefully by the Romans. The most important roads connected Rome to important Italian cities. From these cities, roads continued to important provinces such as Gaul and Macedonia. Not only did roads have military significances, but also important economic benefits. As a result, much of Rome’s prosperity and success was a direct result of Roman roads.

Roman Viae were subdivided into privatae or agrariae and publicae. Privatae were free roads with the soil remaining private property. They were managed by private individuals. Agrariae and publicae were public roads. Their use, maintenance, and soil were all managed as property of the state. The need for such roads was first realized after the Samnite Wars. With Roman troops now beginning to venture farther away from Rome, roads were necessary to connect the legions to the city. Along the roads, milestones were used to mark the distance from Rome. Some scholars believe the particular point from which the distance was marked was the gate from which the road left Rome. The most important milestone was the Milliarium Aureum or the Golden Milestone shown in Figure 1. It was a gilded bronze monument erected by Augustus in the Roman Forum by the Temple of Saturn during the famous Pax Romana. Many scholars believe the distance on milestones showed the distance to the Golden Milestone (Ramsay, 1875).

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Figure 1: Milliarium Aureum