How far is the road to Rome, or even Virunum?

Virunum today (Photo: Wikipedia)

Roman horseman (Author photo of Marcus Aurelius in the Capitoline)

Travelling in the ancient world was different, fundamentally different. Young (and not so young) men were by far the most mobile in the Ancient Rome over the whole period whether you count it to AD 476 (west) or 1453 (east) because they fought […]

A passion for maps, and Julia's journey

I love maps. Even in the digital age, I still have a print road atlas. I was recently given an Ordnance Survey map of Roman Britain; I haven’t seen one since I was a kid. And, yes, it did cost 7/6 in old money at a time when a standard OS map of your local […]

The Via Flaminia

Main Via Flaminia in blue, later central alternative in pink and ‘branch line’ (Via Septempeda) in orange (CC licence source EH101)

‘All roads lead to Rome‘.

Actually, a fair number do, but it seems the saying wasn’t recorded as being coined by the Romans themselves. Of course, the Romans may well have said […]