[HN Gopher] The Roman Roads Research Association
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The Roman Roads Research Association
Author : bjourne
Score : 106 points
Date : 2025-07-01 20:32 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (www.romanroads.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.romanroads.org)
| car wrote:
| Prehistoric fields have also been identified with Lidar.
|
| https://celtic-fields.com
| gerdesj wrote:
| I want to write a comment about living next to the Fosse Way
| but instead I have to point out that website is only missing
| the <blink> tag.
| hjrnunes wrote:
| There is Spanish Youtuber called Isaac Moreno that is really
| worth checking out for anyone interested in Roman roads and Roman
| engineering in general.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/@IsaacMorenoGallo
| nvader wrote:
| Isn't this just the Roads Research Association?
| defrost wrote:
| It only covers Roman Empire Roads.
|
| See Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shudao
| https://www.newcivilengineer.com/archive/chinas-ancient-road...
| Roman roads relied on thickness and rigidity, and sometimes
| needed excavations up to 2m deep. This meant they were long
| lasting but allowed nothing for temperature induced expansion
| or contraction. They were consequently prone to surface
| fissuring and uneven drainage.
|
| Vs: The Chinese roads, on the other hand, were
| more akin to modern highways, being thinner and more elastic.
| They were built with a rubble sub-base onto which a layer of
| finely tamped gravel was added to produce a 'water- bound
| macadam'.
|
| Other ancient road networks existed, but Rome and China were
| the big two from a civil engineering PoV.
| stephen_g wrote:
| Is that thing about 2m excavations actually true though? I
| read that it was actually a bit of a legend that started by
| somebody mistaking the construction process of foundations
| for villas with those of roads, and it just became assumed
| knowledge.
|
| Obviously they were paved, but as I now understand it they
| were far simpler than the several layers I'd seen in history
| picture books in primary school! Otherwise the amount of
| material even a short stretch of road would need would be
| utterly impracticably huge.
| ggm wrote:
| Many fine drives on British roads laid over or alongside Roman
| ones. The A68 is said to be one. Bits of the A1. Watling Street.
|
| I tend to think "stick to straight lines" was more pragmatic
| genius than a curse. Doable with tools available for surveying of
| the time, easy to communicate to staff and labour.
|
| Modern Australian roads in the bush have inexplicable kinks,
| 100km of direct, then a bend. I think Fred on the tractor got
| bored.
| throw0101d wrote:
| > _Modern Australian roads in the bush have inexplicable kinks,
| 100km of direct, then a bend. I think Fred on the tractor got
| bored._
|
| Or long stretches of monotonous driving can cause people
| to'self hypnotize' and 'zone out', so a bit of 'variety' very
| so often may help with alertness.
|
| See perhaps:
|
| > _The Autovia del Olivar which unites Ubeda with Estepa in
| Andalucia in southern Spain. A geometric design saved on
| construction costs and improved visibility with the intention
| to reduce the likelihood of traffic incidents_
|
| * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometric_design_of_roads
|
| Also maybe:
|
| * https://ssti.us/2019/10/28/more-sharp-curves-make-roads-
| safe...
| mkarliner wrote:
| Very nice to see, given I live within a couple of hundred metres
| of Watling St. (Cricklewood Broadway)
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(page generated 2025-07-02 23:01 UTC)