Roman road: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Romans, as a military, commercial and political expedient, became adept at constructing long straight roads. The Roman roads were essential for the growth of their empire, by virtue of enabling them to speedily move armies. The Roman emphasis on constructing straight roads often resulted in steep grades relatively impractical for most economic traffic. These lengthy highways were very important in maintaining both the stability and expansion of the empire.

The Roman roads often used deep roadbeds of crushed stone as a underlaying layer to ensure that they kept dry, as the water would flow out from the crushed stone, instead of becoming mud in clay soils. The legions made good time on these roads and some are still used millennia later.

A popular proverb says that "every road leads to Rome". Roman roads were designed that way to hinder provinces organising resistance against the Empire.

Some Roman roads

There are many examples of roads that still follow the route of Roman roads.

France

• Via Aquitania, from Narbonne, where it connected to the Via Domitia, to the Atlantic Ocean across Toulouse and Bordeaux,
• Via Domitia (118 BC), from Nimes to the Pyrenees, where it joins to the Via Augusta at the Col de Panissars.

Greece

• Via Egnatia (146 BC)

Italy

• Via Appia, the Appian way (312 BC), from Rome to Apulia (Puglie)
• Via Aurelia (241 BC), from Rome to France
• Via Cassia, from Rome to Tuscany
• Via Julia Augusta (8 BC),
• Via Claudia Julia Augusta (13 BC)
• Via Aemilia, from Piacenza to Rimini
• Via Aemilia Scaura (109 BC),
• Via Flaminia,
• Via Postumia (148),
• Via Salaria, from Rome to the Adriatic Sea (in Marches)

the name of these (all active today) roads is derived from the censor that ordered their construction

Trans-Alpine Roads

These roads connected modern Italy and Germany

• Via Claudia Augusta from Venice to Augsburg via the Reschen Scheideck Pass
• Via Mala from Milan to Lindau via the Great St Bernard pass

Spain

• Via Augusta, from Cádiz to the Pyrenees, where it joins to the Via Domitia at the Coll de Panissars, near La Jonquera. It passes through Valencia, Tarragona and Barcelona.

United Kingdom

For main article see Roman roads in Britain

• Akeman Street
• Ermine Street
• Fen Causeway
• Fosse Way
• London-West of England Roman Roads
• Peddars Way
• Stane Street
• Stanegate
• Watling Street