Roman Republican Road-Building

Abstract

The early history and development of the Roman road-system in Italy under the Republic has been the subject of much recent study, notably in a book by Dr. T. Pekáry of Berne and in a series of papers by Professor G. Radke of Berlin, who now promises an article on viae in a forthcoming supplement-volume to Paully-Wissowa. The aim of the present paper is to ask how far the theories put forward by these scholars can be accepted, and how much the existing evidence can and cannot tell us. Professor Radke's views are considered first—the basic criteria for his arguments in section I and the results he obtains for the individual roads in section II. Dr. Pekáry's arguments about the chronology of the early road programmes are examined in section III, and his theory about the financial responsibility for the building and repair of roads in section IV. The final section contains some positive, if tentative, suggestions about the development in scale and expense of the roads in the second century B.C., about the political importance of road-building under the Republic, and about the introduction and purpose of milestone inscriptions.