The Romans built one of the most extensive road networks of the ancient world, stretching more than eighty thousand kilometers at its height. Engineers surveyed each route with care, preferring straight lines and gentle gradients even when that meant cutting through hills or bridging valleys. A typical road was built in layers, with a foundation of large stones, a middle bed of gravel or rubble, and a surface of fitted paving slabs that curved slightly so rain would drain to the ditches on either side. Milestones marked the distance to the nearest town, and way stations offered fresh horses to official couriers.
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