Sep 15, 2026 05:42 PM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1144000
INTRO: A multidisciplinary team of researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark, Queen Mary University of London, and other European institutions analysed a dataset representing almost 300,000 kilometres of Roman roads across the former empire, creating the most detailed quantitative picture yet of how the Roman road network was structured.
The study, published in Nature Communicationsfff on 15 September, challenges the idea that roads of the empire were uniformly straight and the famous saying that “all roads lead to Rome.” The analysis draws on "Itiner-e, The Digital Atlas of Ancient Roads" and applies network centrality, a method for measuring how important a given point is to overall connectivity, to model the empire's road system.
"The study shows that Roman engineers adapted road construction to the landscape. While they favoured straight routes where possible, the roads were generally less straight than major modern ones. Mountains, valleys, rivers and settlements all helped shape their routes, while engineering techniques such as terracing, rock cutting, retaining walls and bridges allowed roads to cross challenging terrain,” says Dr. Adam Pazout from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, lead author of the study.
"The research reveals a sophisticated network in which provincial capitals often acted as vital crossroads, mediating regional overland communications. Crucially, these results are robust when we account for gaps and inconsistencies in the archaeological records," adds Dr. Matteo Mazzamurro from Queen Mary University of London.
The consistently high centrality of provincial capitals and main roads suggests that the development of the network involved complex, system-level decision-making. Rome itself was not the dominant hub of the Empire’s land transport network, and the late antique capital Byzantium was more central to empire-wide land mobility... (MORE - no ads)
INTRO: A multidisciplinary team of researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark, Queen Mary University of London, and other European institutions analysed a dataset representing almost 300,000 kilometres of Roman roads across the former empire, creating the most detailed quantitative picture yet of how the Roman road network was structured.
The study, published in Nature Communicationsfff on 15 September, challenges the idea that roads of the empire were uniformly straight and the famous saying that “all roads lead to Rome.” The analysis draws on "Itiner-e, The Digital Atlas of Ancient Roads" and applies network centrality, a method for measuring how important a given point is to overall connectivity, to model the empire's road system.
"The study shows that Roman engineers adapted road construction to the landscape. While they favoured straight routes where possible, the roads were generally less straight than major modern ones. Mountains, valleys, rivers and settlements all helped shape their routes, while engineering techniques such as terracing, rock cutting, retaining walls and bridges allowed roads to cross challenging terrain,” says Dr. Adam Pazout from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, lead author of the study.
"The research reveals a sophisticated network in which provincial capitals often acted as vital crossroads, mediating regional overland communications. Crucially, these results are robust when we account for gaps and inconsistencies in the archaeological records," adds Dr. Matteo Mazzamurro from Queen Mary University of London.
The consistently high centrality of provincial capitals and main roads suggests that the development of the network involved complex, system-level decision-making. Rome itself was not the dominant hub of the Empire’s land transport network, and the late antique capital Byzantium was more central to empire-wide land mobility... (MORE - no ads)