Roman Roads

Roman roads comprise a vast network of transportation built by the Roman empire to facilitate trade, communication, and military operations. They were built over two thousand years ago and many remain intact. The network is immense and covers most of Europe including Britain, stretching across northern Africa and into the middle east.

I am fascinated by the paradox of the seemingly mundane aspect of these roads; yet their impact on society, culture, and art are both undeniable and enormous. Could the soldiers who painstakingly built the tens of thousands of miles of roadway have predicted the enormous impact they would have? Did they believe that these roads would still exist and have relevance thousands of years later? Would they have guessed that Roman Roads would be a great title for my blog?

Intentional pun alert: I considered Roamin’ Roads. It has a little Hank Williams or John Prine twang of authenticity to it. But it would also imply a travelogue (or travel-blog) aspect which, for better or for worse, this is not, primarily. Also, it seemed a half measure too clever, so Roman Roads it is.

Starting a blog that is named after an incredible human achievement like Roman roads may be a little (or a lot) presumptuous, perhaps even arrogant, a characteristic which I certainly hope isn’t typically associated with me. That said, I guess I’d consider it aspirational to create a virtual network of thought that just might inspire similarly but on a microscopic scale. I’m pretty sure my blog won’t be relevant in a few years, let alone a few thousand, but then again, I bet the builders of the Roman roads thought that too.