A ground-breaking new map has dramatically expanded our understanding of the Roman Empire’s land transport network, revealing it to be around 60 per cent larger than previously thought. This map, named itiner-e, is the first open dataset of its kind, carefully drawing on a large amount of information, including topographic maps, satellite images and centuries-old historical documents.
The elaborate compilation, now publicly available, details nearly 300,000 kilometers of roads that existed in 150 AD. Archaeologists have collected the data to create the most detailed map of the empire’s road system.
How did the creator create the complex map?
To build the map, Tom Brugmans of Aarhus University in Denmark and his colleagues combined data from a variety of studies to recreate more realistic routes of known roads. Each section of the road has been assigned a confidence rating based on the reliability of the evidence supporting its location.
According to Brugmans, the project began “out of enormous frustration and is comparable to the most mysterious subject of Roman archaeology. ‘All roads lead to Rome’ is one of our sayings. So why can’t I download all the Roman roads?” “Where are they?”
Their research showed that the total length of the road network at this time was about 299,171 kilometers, far greater than the Barrington Atlas of the Greco-Roman World’s earlier estimate of 188,555 km.
The analysis also shows that only 2.8 percent of the network’s length can be pinpointed within 50 meters in the mountains and 200 meters in flat terrain, despite the fact that we have strong evidence of the beginnings and ends of many routes.
According to Brugmans, this suggests that much of the work was not completed because it can be difficult to find funding to excavate entire Roman roads. It may not be easy to find the original route because the main roads have been built many times throughout history.
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Additional insight into the Roman road system can help us understand a number of significant historical events in Europe. According to Brugmans, the Roman road system influenced the spread of early Christianity, mass migration, and pandemics across the continent.
The map can be accessed through their website, itiner-e.org
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