Show PAVED STREETS IN 2000 B C babylon carthage and other ancient cities took much interest in building good roads when or where the ahe first road was built is n not 0 t known 11 herodotus e rodo t us speaks or of a great eg egyptian road on which king choops employed men for or ten ears cars according to the historian this road was built baill of massive istone blocks ten feet deep and lined on both sides bides with temples mausoleums porticos port lech cob and statues the streets of babylon ire are said to have been paved as early as 2000 B C and several well surfaced roads radiated to neighboring cities carthage before its full fall was the center ot a highly developed road system the ancient peruvians had a 0 wonderful O ul J system of national roads mads connecting all the principal parts of their empire bridget eie also built by the ancients at a aci eaily date the euphrates ph rates at ac babylon Be bylon was nab crossed by a stone bridge prior to 2000 B C and it is known that the chinese built bridges as public maiks as early as 2100 13 C bays roads year book the first deri definite nite and fully authentic information concerning the systematic construction and maintenance of permanent roads comes to us front from the romans it is generally understood dundei stood that the romans learned the art of road building from the ans however hoever the con bt ruction of their great creat road was as perfect as that of any of their later ones the first of the great roman roads was nas from rome to capua a distance of italian miles and x was as begun by claudius about B C it was known as the way or queen of roads this road was later extended to Brundi slum a total t f miles and was probably completed by julius caesar about 13 C the way was built it crossed the nar river on a stone bridge which had bad a central span of feet with a rise of feet when rome reached the height of her glory under the reign of augustus no less lesa than 20 great military roads radiated from the city these roads extended to every part ot of the vast empire and are estimated to have bavo a total length of miles the roman construction was in general ext extremely massive the way is said to have been in good repair SOO years after it vas as built on a carefully prepared were placed four successive courses of layers the or second course the nucleus or third course and the or wearing surface the top and bottom courses consisted in general ai 01 large flat stones while the two intervening course were built ot of smaller stones or other suitable material laid in lime mortar with the fall of the roman empire the roads were neglected and gradually fell into decay so that today but little more than a trace remains ol 01 these splendid achievements |