A New Map Just Added 60,000 Miles to Ancient Rome’s Roadways
New findings increase the known length of the Roman Empire’s road network by more than 60,000 miles
The central street of the ancient Roman city of Scythopolis in what is today Israel.
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The new map—an online database dubbed Itiner-e—was compiled from several sources, including earlier databases, satellite photographs and archaeological reports. It reveals the true extent of the crucial road network as it was in the year C.E. 150—a time of prosperity in the Roman Empire—including highways between settlements, military roads for Roman soldiers and local routes that were overlooked in earlier research. The map will help scientists better understand issues such as mobility, trade and the spread of diseases, the study’s authors say.
The map of the Ancient Roman road network created by Itiner-e.
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The fragment of an Ancient Roman milestone erected along the road Via Nova in modern-day Jordan.
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