Publisher's Synopsis
Colin Adams' book describes travel in the Roman world. He looks at the practical arrangements and the means of transport, but also considers the vital role transport played in the way the Roman Empire worked. Expansion, defence of the empire, and the administration of it, depended on swift and reliable communication, and this work gives us a keen insight into the operation of Roman imperialism. The author records the means of transport available to the Romans and the routes they employed across water and land. Adams pays particular attention to land transport, to tracks and roads, and to the importance of pack animals. The remains of Roman roads, bridges, watering stations, inns and stables, provide us with striking archaeological evidence of the elaborate and efficient transport system of the period. Colin Adams combines this material record with the evidence gleaned from maps, itineraries, inscriptions, graffiti and private letters to shed new light on the Romans' approach to travel, their anxieties about its hazards, and their conception of the world. The author's broad treatment of the subject tells us much about the movement of individuals and goods around the Roman provinces.
