Design and Construction of Roman Roads: The Case of Via Egnatia in the Aegean Thrace, Northern Greece

Xeidakis, G. S.; Varagouli, E. G.

doi:10.2113/gseegeosci.iii.1.123

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…In this respect, studies have traditionally explored the role of Roman roads in ancient topography (Gautier 1769;Albenga 1918;Fustier 1960;Forbes 1964;Radke 1981;Quilici and Quilici 1992;Kolb 2019), especially regarding Roman rural field systems (centuriationes) (Chouquer and Favory 1991;Botazzi 1992;Ciampoltrini and Andreotti 1994;Ariño Gil et al 2004); the relationship between roads and the urban necropolises and the entrances to the towns (Schattner and Ruipérez 2010) and their association with overland trade (Batino et al 1999;Berechman 2003;Hitchner 2012;Orengo and Livarda 2016). With regard to the roads as part of Roman material culture, research has generally emphasised the analysis of their construction techniques (Forbes 1964;Quilici 1992;Quilici and Quilici 1992;Rosada 1992;Xeidakis and Varagouli 1997;Moreno Gallo 2004), geotechnical properties (Garilli et al 2017) and the modern restoration of ancient routes (Petrucci 2013). In this respect, the growing interest in the surveying (Sidebotham et al 2000;Magli et al 2014) and stratigraphic excavation (Quilici and Quilici 1992;Moreno Gallo 2004;Garilli et al 2017) of Roman roads has been a crucial milestone.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Tibullus,1,7,57). Besides, excavations of Roman roads across the different provinces of the former Roman Empire reveal a considerable stratigraphic variability in terms of their construction techniques, raw materials and composition, due to the possibilities and limitations of the local geology and the repairs carried out over time (Quilici and Quilici 1992;Xeidakis and Varagouli 1997;Moreno Gallo 2004;Garilli et al 2017;Charbonnier and Cammas 2018, amongst others). These excavations also document a predominance of multiple gravel deposits, which sometimes represent not just one, but a sequence of several overlying roads.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Microstratigraphic analysis of the main Roman road in Hispania: the Via Augusta where it passes through the Ianus Augustus (Mengíbar, Spain)

Rodríguez

Chica

Padilla

et al. 2022

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Roman roads are omnipresent in the Mediterranean basin. Despite the methodological advances achieved, interdisciplinary studies including geoarchaeological techniques are still rare. The aim of this study is to offer a microstratigraphic analysis of an important Roman road in order to characterise the raw materials and construction techniques used to build it and their evolution over time. Our research focuses on the Via Augusta, the longest road in Roman Hispania, where it passes through the Ianus Augustus (Mengíbar, Spain), a monumental complex on the frontier between the provinces of Baetica and Tarraconensis. Archaeological excavations of this road have revealed vertical stratigraphic variations, suggesting the presence of several transit surfaces and repair works. A protocol was designed to characterise the road deposits at the microscale, where micromorphology revealed six overlying roads and their construction techniques. The combination of micromorphology, µ-XRF and the study of the textural parameters of the deposits allowed us to identify the raw materials used and their sources, as well as the specific features generated during the construction and use of the road. The results show how the technical solutions used survived as a tradition for centuries, and how the repair works identified in the stratigraphic sequence have a correlation with the road maintenance works mentioned in the Roman epigraphic record of Hispania Baetica. This study shows how detailed microstratigraphic analyses of Roman roads are very effective in the characterisation of road biographies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microstratigraphic analysis of the main Roman road in Hispania: the Via Augusta where it passes through the Ianus Augustus (Mengíbar, Spain)

Rodríguez

Chica

Padilla

et al. 2022

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…Due to its important role on economic exchange, information transfer, army movement, control of the territory, and growing of settlement networks, the reconstruction of ancient viability is an important issue for the investigation of past political, social, economic, and military factors of the Roman civilization [1]. The issue of viability is critical, since it is often related to the morphology of a given territory, as well as, conversely, the social and economic growth of a population is necessarily connected to a road network [2][3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geological and Geomorphological Controls on the Path of an Intermountain Roman Road: The Case of the Via Herculia, Southern Italy

et al. 2019

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This work introduces the results of a geoarchaeological study about a large segment of a Roman road (i.e., Via Herculia, III and the beginning of IV century A.D.), which crossed the Lucanian segment of the southern Apennines (Italy). Classical approach of the archaeological research based on the analysis of bibliographic, archival, literary, archaeological, and historical sources allowed us to infer the Roman road path, which is quite different from previous hypotheses. Geoarchaeological analysis is based on the detailed mapping of lithological and geomorphological features of the study area and has been primarily focused on a well-known segment of the Roman road from Filiano to the southern mountains of the Potenza city (Sasso di Castalda). Our results suggest that the choice of the road path has been driven by the outcrop of some deposits and the presence of specific geomorphological landforms, such as low-relief areas in mountain landscape. Then, the same approach was applied to a sector with controversial archaeological evidences (i.e., the Upper Agri river valley), where geological and geomorphological analyses support archaeological research in the reconstruction of the ancient path. This integrated approach can help archaeology to understand and then discover ancient road paths crossing complex and impervious landscapes such as the intramontane lands.

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A study for the understanding of the Roman pavement design criteria

Garilli

Autelitano

2017

Journal of Cultural Heritage

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Design and Construction of Roman Roads: The Case of Via Egnatia in the Aegean Thrace, Northern Greece

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Microstratigraphic analysis of the main Roman road in Hispania: the Via Augusta where it passes through the Ianus Augustus (Mengíbar, Spain)

Microstratigraphic analysis of the main Roman road in Hispania: the Via Augusta where it passes through the Ianus Augustus (Mengíbar, Spain)

Geological and Geomorphological Controls on the Path of an Intermountain Roman Road: The Case of the Via Herculia, Southern Italy

A study for the understanding of the Roman pavement design criteria

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