I love that drawing because everyone is doing someone roman-road-building related, but none of it makes sense in context.
A man is holding a Groma, but there are no right angles or straight lines to be measured here, the road is basically already done. And even if there were, he’s just kinda leaning on it.
A fully armored legionnaire is standing right in the middle of the construction site. Guarding the gravel, one presumes? He’s also right on the edge, about to damage the tamped rocks.
A man is setting stones, which is very hard and backbreaking work. These must be some really light stones, since he’s opting to lift them all the way to a standing position.
Someone is pouring gravel from high enough that the guy kneeling below is absolutely getting pummeled by bouncing rocks.
The containment stones seem to be placed on top of the 2nd layer, making sure they don’t actually contain anything.
It’s government work, what’s important is that you look busy 🙏
And the horses.
One riding along that road in the background, for some reason the wagon wheel is turned directly towards the viewer.
The other wagon carrying some sort of goods, originating from the road that fades to nothing.
And the horse that is calmly walking with its front legs while it’s rear legs are both airborne, suggesting a gallop?
Oh also the person carrying a load of stones from a spot the road will be built to. Though maybe that was a part of the process if they layered different materials underneath the road, but it looks a bit deep to me.
Edit: Oops meant to reply to the other comment about the workers. Instead, this is the timeline I inadvertently chose. Hopefully it’s a good one.
Oh also the person carrying a load of stones from a spot the road will be built to. Though maybe that was a part of the process if they layered different materials underneath the road, but it looks a bit deep to me.
That they did! It’s why their roads have lasted so long. A lot of the damage that happens to a road happens below the paved surface. By making the best roads obsessively-well-built, they’ve managed to last some 2000 years!
Those look better made than many roads today.
Imagine being one of the poor guys who had to carve the inscriptions on those mile blocks during any of the periods where Rome quickly cycled through emperors.
The inscriptions were given the name of the Emperor to designate which year it was built or commissioned in - Romans didn’t use any sensible system regularly, like numbering the years from a set date. So, luckily for the stone carvers, the Emperor’s name didn’t ever need to be replaced.
Oh, I thought it was so that people who had been away would know if there was a new emperor lol. Better for history since it’s a clear record of what emperors ordered what roads built. Know what portion of them survived to modern times?
Not sure. In places they were built over in the modern day, or repaired with modern techniques before “historical preservation” became a big thing, but there are a hell of a lot of them that still avoided those fates. Still-usable (for foot traffic) Roman roads positively litter Europe, even in Britain, which was the edge of the Empire. Thousands and thousands of miles’ worth.
That’s cool, thanks for the information!
Anytime!
So, luckily for the stone carvers, the Emperor’s name didn’t ever need to be replaced.
Removed, occasionally, but not replaced
“We’re just gonna forget this one ever happened…”
