Show modern IM M ar oder 1 t roads IF 0 e 11 0 ri AT arc e great history laist ty links S many follow routes of highways made famous in ancient times washington many motorists who speed along theold the old post road out of boston today are unaware that paul revere galloped along that same route on his famous ride nor do travelers on the lie road in the french riviera Ill viera always realize they are skimming over a sector of the via aurella aurelja a roman speedway which emperor aucelli is began more than two centuries before christ was born speedway is entirely correct as no an appell appellation 1 for those roman roads a Nat national ionn geographic society bulletin points out we have tile I 1 lie word of pliny an early geographer for it once a roman emperor traveled SOU miles in 24 hours in three relays ol of chariots ile he sped at eight miles tin an hour pliny tiny describes that cliot record as a wonderful thing and tin an instance of incredible inci edible celerity english roads once roman highways many present day roads aronds are telltales telli I 1 of ancient history for they follow the routes of historic highways continues the bulletin this Is especially true of highways of modern europeans europe and even of the united states street and stine stane street and peddlers lars way are survivors of the military roads with which rome once adorned britain nobody knows who built the first farst road but remains have been found of a highway laid out by choops builder of tile the great pyramid in egypt babylon had find three great highways and the first levying of tolls kolls to la the history of highways took place on one of these babylonian routes the carthaginians were the most eclen eifle road builders of ancient times but the details of their construction n have been all ali roads roada lead to rome was not a metaphor but a fact during the supremacy of the roman empire roads led to the imperial city from dacia present day on east and germany on the went welt another road branched from the very ti tip P of what now Is spain by the roman roina n laws the roads were free for the use of the public they could belong to one person or group of persons and the emperors were charged with their maintenance soldiers convicts and slaves kept them in repair in some places service on the roads ellin eliminated hinted the payment ot of taxes the romans were proud of the emperors who bull built J t highways they honored them with triumphal arches and medals and named tile lie highways after them thein such as the via apala and the via aurella aurelin the via apala was the roman lincoln highway over it st paul not the apostle traveled untroubled by toll collectors it was begun by caesar claudius in U B 0 and when completed reached to brin dial on the adriatic coast modern traffic takes a new path but the via apala still runs its course from rome across the alban hills bills the romans had no road maps they published itineraries listing the stall stations oils dillong the road with the als bettl nn each station their nearest to road maps were drawings of if iha stations with topo graphic featured feature a of the surrounding country when tile the boulon empire declined road building did likewise charlemagne ma agne emperor of the Vi franks ranks began a program of road con construction st ruction but bu t after his death the development pissed passed into a lethargy which was hardly disturbed during the middle ages A quaint law was passed in england in tile the middle aliddie ages relative to tile the muddy and rutted highways of the day according to the low law bushes and trees wera were felled for feet on either side of a road to prevent the gentle inhabitants of the countryside from rushing out and attacking travelers traveler sl 1 the first toll for the maintenance of english roads was passed by edward III in the fourteen h century the incas of peru had the most extensive highway system in the new world their queen of roads which connected quito and cuzco was live times as long as the completed complete via apala they were shrewder engineers than the romans the latter built their roads in straight lines conquering nil all difficulties in their paths the incas curved and graded their I 1 highways if eways to avoid ascents accents anti and forests the fattier father of modern road building Is napoleon ile he systematized the industry and appointed a body of engineers to supervise the construction of french roads other european countries and the lie united states were quick to perceive the value of improved highways turkey long closed to western ways Is planning an asphalt surfaced highway from constantinople to angora every day news announcements bring in tidings of new roads being built in lesser known parts of the world automobiles demand an ever widening touring radius and modern travelers no longer fear the mythological creatures which medieval people believed inhabited the u unknown parts of the earth |