Not all roads led to Rome - a new science news sheet 'After' 'Scientists found that not all roads of the Roman Empire led to Rome - at least if they are considered as one transportation network. Scientists compared the roads with the terrain and calculated their location in the overall network. It turned out that the Romans really tried to lay out routes exactly where the terrain allowed. But in general, ancient roads were less direct than modern ones: mountains, valleys and technological limitations caused them to deviate much more from the shortest path. Even more interesting was the question of the network center. Rome was the most politically important city of the empire, but when land routes were analyzed, it did not turn out to be the main intermediate center. Cities such as Antioch, Ancyra - modern Ankara - Byzantium and Corinth held a more advantageous position for movement between different parts of the empire. But within individual provinces, their capitals were indeed located more often in convenient places for land communication. Read the program transcript on the HD website, listen to the program live on the HD app or on YouTube.

Not all roads led to Rome - a new science news sheet 'After' 'Scientists found that not all roads of the Roman Empire led to Rome - at least if they are considered as one transportation network. Scientists compared the roads with the terrain and calculated their location in the overall network. It turned out that the Romans really tried to lay out routes exactly where the terrain allowed. But in general, ancient roads were less direct than modern ones: mountains, valleys and technological limitations caused them to deviate much more from the shortest path. Even more interesting was the question of the network center. Rome was the most politically important city of the empire, but when land routes were analyzed, it did not turn out to be the main intermediate center. Cities such as Antioch, Ancyra - modern Ankara - Byzantium and Corinth held a more advantageous position for movement between different parts of the empire. But within individual provinces, their capitals were indeed located more often in convenient places for land communication. Read the program transcript on the HD website, listen to the program live on the HD app or on YouTube.