The Appian Way, one of the oldest and most important Roman roads. © wikimedia
A new detailed map reveals 300,000 km of ancient Roman roads.
A new study has unveiled Itiner-e, the most complete digital map of roads across the entire Roman Empire — covering an impressive 300,000 kilometers.
The Roman road network was essential for moving people, goods, and ideas, and for maintaining control over the vast empire. Despite centuries of research, this system had never been fully mapped or unified across sources.
The Roman road network circa 150 AD. Itiner-e, CC BY
Researchers created Itiner-e by combining archaeological and historical records with modern and historical maps, remote sensing, and precise digital mapping. Each road segment includes detailed data and certainty levels about its location.
The dataset nearly doubles the previously known length of Roman roads and shows that only 2.7% of their locations are confirmed with full certainty.
This new resource transforms how we understand mobility, communication, and administration in the ancient world — and how land travel evolved over thousands of years.
source nature.com
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