Roman roads in Britain

Channel 4 ^ | before 2004 | staff

[SunkenCiv]

Ermine Street, the search for a stretch of which featured in the Cheshunt programme in the 2002 series, is far from being one of the longest Roman roads; those are to be found in mainland Europe. But it is one of the best known – and for the Romans, most important – in Britain. It linked London with Lincoln (passing through Ancaster, which also features in the 2002 series) before continuing on to the Humber, inland from the modern road bridge, at Winteringham. Long, straight stretches of it can still be plotted on a map; much the same route is followed by modern roads heading north from London today... Roman roads were so effective that in the later empire they actually became a liability because invading forces could travel along them just as quickly as the Roman armies. Indeed, some roads were deliberately blocked during the later years of the Roman occupation in Britain. Everywhere they went into decline after the Roman departure. Not until the advent of the railways in the 19th century did Britain again enjoy such a speedy and efficient communications network.

[SunkenCiv]

In Britain, the weakest link tended to be the Roman bridges. The Romans generally plunged their roads straight downhill to the ford or bridge, and as Roman rule vanished from memory, the bridges crumbled, or were pulled apart for building stone. The later roads diverged at the crest of the hills on each bank, taking a less steep route to the water's edge, and creating what is often called a "birdfoot".

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[concentric circles]

Another concise source here:

The Construction & Makeup of Ancient Roman Roads
"...the upper layers of the road are always laid carefully, “of finer material well-rammed down”. He says, “It is apparent from many well-preserved portions that this was often done in several successive layers, for if it is excavated for a section, the material can be seen to break away in flat slabs of gravel, etc., corresponding to these original layers”.

"...a layer of material such as sand is also a common part of this middle layer, serving to lend the road resilience. Adam calls this middle layer the rudus, a layer of “sand, or gravel and sand, sometimes mixed with clay”.

"The topmost surface, or metalling, of the road varies; and most roads were defined by curb stones on each side. The ancient Roman roads are not always paved, especially along difficult stretches, but when available, the roads are paved at least with gravel. Flint and other small, broken stones are also used to pave the road, and Adam says that sometimes slabs of stone are used, though this did not appear before the beginning of the second century B.C. “A text of Livy gives precise information that in 174 B.C. roads had to be paved in towns, but simply surfaced with sand or pebbles on country sections”.

"...“In districts where iron was being worked, the hard slag [the waste metal created in producing iron] provided an almost ideal metalling, which seems in some cases to have increased its effectiveness by rusting together into an uncommonly hard concrete-like mass”... Some other roads were metalled with a sort of rough concrete; a combination of gravel bound with a little mortar..."

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Archaeologist's dig reveals solution to ancient riddle of lost Roman town
Telegraph Online | Sunday 30 July 2000 | Adam Lusher
Posted on 07/30/2004 7:47:49 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1181721/posts

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[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 10/16/2004. Thanks, me.

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