Roman Travel

What would it have been like to travel through the Roman Empire? You wouldn't need a companion to try to figure out which direction to turn a fragile map repeatedly mis-folded into dozens of sections to steer you. You might have a delicate map though. One with paths depicted as the straight lines the Romans tried to make their roads by cutting or burrowing through geological structures. Such itineraries (like the Tabula Peutinger) would tell you the distance along the road to the next stopping spot, where you might be able to change horses, if you were lucky enough not to be relying on foot power, or a place to rest for the night, if you had the money for an inn.

Read about these stopping points in Archaeology Guide Kris Hirst's Rest Houses and Way Stations

Many of the major roads were created during the Roman Republic. The (in)famous Via Appia or Appian Way was the scene of Clodius the Beautiful's final confrontation with the rival gang of Milo and the location of the crucifixion of the captives from the Spartacan War. Later, around the surrounding countryside, some Christians buried their families, separately from the pagan burial grounds [_{see "The Christianization of Space along the via Appia: Changing Landscape in the Suburbs of Rome," byLucrezia Spera; American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 107, No. 1 (Jan., 2003)}], and erected churches. The first Christian emperor, Constantine, set the new capital city of Constantinople at the eastern, Bosporus end of the Via Egnatia, that traversed the land from the east coast of the Adriatic Sea.

Read about the basics of the Roman roads in:

• Roman Roads
• The Appian Way in Pictures
• Types of Roman Roads

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