【简译】罗马人的道路

2022-07-27 12:18 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

问题与解答

What was special about Roman roads? 罗马的道路有什么特别之处？

Roman roads were particular in that they attempted to join two locations by a direct line. This strategy meant travel was quicker but it was expensive to build such roads when natural obstacles required bridges and tunnels.

罗马道路的特别之处在于，它们试图用一条直线连接两个地方。这种策略意味着旅行更快，但在自然障碍需要桥梁和隧道的情况下，建造这种道路的成本很高。

What is the most famous Roman road? 最著名的罗马道路是什么？

The most famous Roman road is the Via Appia (Appian Way). Constructed from 312 BCE and covering 121 miles / 196 km (132 Roman miles), it linked Rome to Capua.

最著名的罗马道路是阿皮亚大道（Via Appia）。它建于公元前312年，长121英里/196公里（132罗马英里），连接罗马和卡普亚。

What are two facts about Roman roads? 关于罗马道路的两个事实是什么？

Roman roads covered a network of over 75,000 miles (120,000 km). Most roads were around 13.5 feet (4.2 m) wide, which was enough space for two wheeled vehicles to pass each other.

罗马道路覆盖了一个超过75000英里（12万公里）的网络。大多数道路的宽度约为13.5英尺（4.2米），这足以让两个轮子的车辆互相通行。

What were Roman roads built of? 罗马人的道路是用什么建造的？

Most Roman roads were built using earth, a layer of rough gravel and crushed bricks, and a top layer of finer gravel. The most prestigious roads had a top surface of dressed stone blocks, cobbles or slabs of volcanic tuff, limestone, or basalt.

大多数罗马道路都是用土建造的，一层是粗糙的碎石和碎砖，另一层是更细的碎石。最负盛名的道路的顶层是由火山凝灰岩、石灰岩或玄武岩制成的石块、鹅卵石或石板组成。

What was the impact of Roman roads? 罗马道路的影响是什么？

Roman roads allowed people to travel much more quickly between places, they were also used by armies to move fast across the Roman empire, and they brought different cultures together. Many Roman roads followed routes which were the basis for roads still used today and some of these still use the Roman name and even sometimes Roman bridges.

罗马道路使人们能够更迅速地在各地之间旅行，它们也被军队用来在罗马帝国之间快速移动，并将不同的文化带到一起。许多罗马道路所遵循的路线是今天仍在使用的道路的基础，其中一些道路仍然使用罗马名称，现在的人们甚至还在使用一些罗马桥梁。

罗马人的道路

The Romans built roads over ancient routes and created a huge number of new ones. Engineers were audacious in their plans to join one point to another in as direct a line as possible whatever the difficulties in geography and costs. Consequently, many of the Romans’ long straight roads across their empire have become famous names in their own right.

罗马人在古老的路上修建道路，并修建了许多新的路线。工程师们计划将一个点与另一个点以尽可能直接的方式连接起来，而不管地理上的困难和成本如何。因此，罗马人在其帝国中的许多长长的笔直的道路已经成为其自身的著名象征。

Roman roads included bridges, tunnels, viaducts, and many other architectural and engineering tricks to create a series of breathtaking but highly practical monuments which spread from Portugal to Constantinople. The network of public Roman roads covered over 120,000 km, and it greatly assisted the free movement of armies, people, and goods across the empire. Roads were also a very visible indicator of the power of Rome, and they indirectly helped unify what was a vast melting pot of cultures, races, and institutions.

罗马道路包括桥梁、隧道、高架桥和许多其他建筑与工程技巧，创造了一系列令人叹为观止但又非常实用的建筑，从葡萄牙延伸到君士坦丁堡。罗马公共道路网覆盖了12万多公里，它极大地帮助了军队、平民和货物在整个帝国的自由流动。道路也是罗马权力一个非常明显的指标，它们间接地帮助了一个由文化、种族和机构组成的巨大熔炉的形成。

罗马道路网络

The Romans did not invent roads, of course, but, as in so many other fields, they took an idea which went back as far as the Bronze Age and extended that concept, daring to squeeze from it the fullest possible potential. The first and most famous great Roman road was the Via Appia (or Appian Way). Constructed from 312 BCE and covering 196 km (132 Roman miles), it linked Rome to Capua in as straight a line as possible and was known to the Romans as the Regina viarum or 'Queen of Roads'. Much like a modern highway, it did not go through less important towns along the way, and it largely ignored geographical obstacles. For example, the impressive 90 km stretch from Rome to Terracina was built in a single straight line. The road would later be extended all the way to Brundisium and thus reach 569 km in length (385 Roman miles).

当然，罗马人并不是道路的首创者，但是，就像在许多其他领域一样，他们采用了远在青铜时代的想法，并扩展了这一概念，敢于从中挖掘最充分的潜力。第一条道路也是最著名的罗马大路是阿皮亚路（或阿皮亚路）。它建于公元前312年，全长196公里（132罗马英里），以尽可能直的路线连接罗马和卡普亚，被罗马人称为Regina viarum或 "道路皇后"。与现代的高速公路一样，它没有经过沿途不太重要的城镇，而且基本上忽略了地理障碍。例如，从罗马到Terracina这段令人印象深刻的90公里路程是在一条直线上建成的。这条路在后来一直延伸到布林迪西（布伦迪西姆），因此长度达到569公里（385罗马英里）。

Other famous roads in Italy were the Via Flaminia which went from Rome to Fanum (Fano), the Via Aemilia from Placentia to Augusta Praetoria (Aosta), the Via Postumia from Aquileia to Genua (Genoa), the Via Popillia from Ariminum (Rimini) to Padova in the north and from Capua to Rheghium (Reggio Calabria) in the south, and many more besides, all with extensions made over time. The roads became so famous that they even gave their names to places and regions. The network gradually spread across the empire from Britain to Syria, and certain roads became as well-known and well-travelled as those around Rome itself. For example, the Via Domitia (begun in 116 BCE) went from the French Alps to the Pyrenees and was invaluable for troop movements in the campaigns in Spain. There was also the Via Egnatia (begun in the mid-second century BCE), which crossed the Balkan Peninsula and ended at Byzantium, making it a vital land route between the western and eastern parts of the empire.

在意大利的其他著名道路有：从罗马到Fanum（法诺）的Via Flaminia；从Placentia（皮亚琴察）到Augusta Praetoria（奥斯塔）的Via Aemilia；从Aquileia（阿奎莱亚）到Genua（热那亚）的Via Postumia；北部从Ariminum（里米尼）到Padova（帕多瓦）和南部从Capua（卡普阿）到Rheghium（雷焦卡拉布里亚）的Via Popillia，以及其他许多道路，都随着时间的推移进行了扩展。这些道路变得如此有名，以至于它们甚至被命名为地方和地区的名字。这个网络逐渐扩展到整个帝国（从英国到叙利亚），某些道路变得和罗马周围的道路一样著名和好走。例如，多米提亚路（始于公元前116年）从法国阿尔卑斯山到比利牛斯山，在西班牙的战役中对部队的移动非常便利。还有Egnatia路（始于公元前二世纪中叶），它穿过巴尔干半岛，终点是拜占庭，使其成为帝国西部和东部之间的重要陆路通道。

To achieve the objective of constructing the shortest routes possible between two points (often not visible one to the other), all manner of engineering difficulties had to be overcome. Once extensive surveying was carried out to ensure the proposed route was actually straight and determine what various engineering methods were required, marshes had to be drained, forests cut through, creeks diverted, bedrock channelled, mountainsides cut into, rivers crossed with bridges, valleys traversed with viaducts, and tunnels built through mountains. Once all that was done, roads had to be levelled, reinforced with support walls or terracing and then, of course, maintained, which they were for over 800 years.

为了实现在两点之间（往往看不到两点）修建最短路线的目标，罗马人必须克服各种工程上的困难。一旦进行了广泛的测量，就要确保拟议的路线实际上是直的，并确定需要哪些不同的工程方法，沼泽地必须被排干，森林被切开，小溪被改道，基岩被疏导，山坡被切开，河流被桥梁穿过，山谷被高架桥穿过，隧道被建在山上。一旦完成这一切，就必须平整道路，用支撑墙或梯田进行加固，当然也要进行维护，这些维护工作持续了800多年。

Besides permitting the rapid deployment of troops and, more importantly, the wheeled vehicles which supplied them with food and equipment, Roman roads allowed for an increase in trade and cultural exchange. Roads were also one of the ways Rome could demonstrate its authority. For this reason many roads began and ended in a triumphal arch, and the imperial prestige associated with realising the project was demonstrated in the fact that roads were very often named after the magistrate official who funded it; hence, for example, the Via Appia takes its name from the censor Appius Claudius Caecus.

除了快速部署部队，更重要的是，为他们提供食物和设备的轮式车辆可以快速移动；罗马道路还促进贸易与文化交流。道路也是罗马展示其权威的方式之一。由于这个原因，许多道路以凯旋门为起点和终点，而与实现该项目相关的帝国威望则体现在道路经常以资助它的地方官员的名字命名；例如，阿皮亚路的名字来自审查官阿皮乌斯·克劳迪乌斯·凯库斯。

道路设计及材料

Major roads were around a standard 4.2 m wide, which was enough space for two wheeled vehicles to pass each other. Roads were finished with a gravel surface sometimes mixed with lime or, for more prestigious sections such as near towns, with dressed stone blocks of volcanic tuff, cobbles, or paving stones of basalt (silice) or limestone. First, a trench was dug and a foundation (rudus) was laid using rough gravel, crushed brick, clay materials or even wooden piles in marshy areas, and set between curb stones. On top of this a layer of finer gravel was added (nucleus) and the road was then surfaced with blocks or slabs (summum dorsum). Mountain roads might also have ridges running across the surface to give people and animals better traction and have ruts cut into the stone to guide wheeled vehicles.

主要道路的标准宽度为4.2米左右，这足以让两个轮子的车辆互相通行。道路的表面是用砾石铺成的，有时还混有石灰，或者在更重要的路段，如城镇附近，人们用火山凝灰岩、鹅卵石或玄武岩（硅石）或石灰石铺成的石块。首先，挖一条沟，用粗糙的砾石、碎砖、粘土材料或甚至沼泽地区的木桩铺设地基（rudus），并在路缘石之间设置。在此基础上，再铺上一层更细的碎石（核），然后用块状或板状物铺设道路（末梢）。山区道路也可能有横跨表面的山脊，以使人和动物有更好的牵引力，并在石头上开出车辙以引导轮式车辆。

Roads were purposely inclined slightly from the centre down to the curb to allow rainwater to run off along the sides, and for the same purpose many also had drains and drainage canals. A path of packed gravel for pedestrians typically ran along each side of the road, varying in width from 1-3 metres. Separating the path from the road, the curb was made of regular upright slabs. In addition, every 3-5 metres there was a higher block set into the curb which stopped wheeled traffic riding onto the footpath and allowed people to mount their horses or pack animals. Busier stretches of main roads had areas where traffic could pull over and some of these had services for travellers and their animals too. Milestones were also set up at regular intervals and these often recorded who was responsible for the upkeep of that stretch of the road and what repairs had been made.

道路特意从中心向路边略微倾斜，以便让雨水沿着两侧流走，出于同样的目的，许多道路还设有排水沟和排水渠。道路两侧通常有一条供行人使用的碎石路，宽度从1-3米不等。路缘石是由规则的直立石板制成的，将小路与道路分开。此外，每隔3-5米就有一个较高的块状物镶嵌在路边，以阻止轮式车辆骑到人行道上，并允许人们骑上他们的马或驮兽。在比较繁忙的主干道上有一些可以停车的地方，其中一些地方还为旅行者和他们的牲畜提供服务。每隔一段时间也会设立一个里程碑，这些里程碑通常记录了谁负责维护这段道路以及进行了哪些维修。

桥 梁、高架桥和隧道

Lasting symbols of the imagination of Roman engineers are the many arched bridges and viaducts still standing around the empire. From early bridges such as the Ponte di Mele near Velletri with its single vault and modest span of 3.6 m to the 700 m long, 10-arch viaduct over the Carapelle River, these structures helped achieve the engineers' straight-line goal. The Romans built to last, and the piers of bridges which crossed rivers, for example, were often built with a more resistant prow-shape and used massive durable blocks of stone, while the upper parts were either built of stone blocks strengthened with iron clamps, used cheaper concrete and brick, or supported a flat wooden superstructure. Perhaps the most impressive bridge was at Narni. 180 m long, 8 m wide and as high as 33 m, it had four massive semicircular arches, one of which, stretching 32.1 m, ranks as one of the longest block-arch spans in the ancient world. Two of the best surviving bridges are the Milvian bridge in Rome (109 BCE) and the bridge over the river Tagus at Alcantara (106 BCE) on the Spanish-Portuguese border.

罗马工程师的想象力的持久象征是帝国各地仍然存在的许多拱形桥梁和高架桥。从早期的桥梁，如Velletri（韦莱特里）附近的Ponte di Mele，其单一拱顶和3.6米的小跨度，到Carapelle（卡拉佩莱）河上700米长的10拱高架桥，这些结构有助于实现工程师们的直线道路目标建设。罗马人的建筑耐久度很高，例如，跨越河流的桥梁的桥墩通常采用更有抵抗力的突起形状，并使用巨大的耐用石块，而上部则由石块建成，用铁夹子加固，使用更便宜的混凝土和砖，或支撑一个平坦的木制上层建筑。也许最令人印象深刻的桥是在纳尔尼。它长180米，宽8米，高33米，有四个巨大的半圆形拱门，其中一个拱门长32.1米，是古代世界最长的砖拱桥之一。现存最好的两座桥是罗马的米尔维安桥（公元前109年）和西班牙与葡萄牙边境阿尔坎塔拉的塔古斯河桥（公元前106年）。

Tunnels were another essential feature of the road network if lengthy detours were to be avoided. The most important include three tunnels built in the 1st century BCE: Cumaea, which stretched 1,000 m in length, Cripta Neapolitano measuring 705 m, and Grotta di Seiano 780 m long. Tunnels were often built by excavating from both ends (counter-excavation), a feat which obviously required precise geometry. To make sure both ends met, shafts were sometimes drilled down from above to check the progress of the work, and shafts could also be used to speed up excavation and work at the rock from two angles. Nevertheless, when working through solid rock, progress was tediously slow, perhaps as little as 30 cm a day, resulting in tunnel projects lasting years.

如果要避免冗长的绕行，隧道是道路网络的另一个重要设施。最重要的包括建于公元前1世纪的三条隧道。Cumaea长1000米，Cripta Neapolitano长705米，Grotta di Seiano长780米。隧道通常是通过从两端开挖（反开挖）来建造的，这显然需要运用到精确的几何形状知识。为了确保两端相接，有时会从上面钻下竖井，以检查工作的进展，竖井也可以用来加快挖掘速度，从两个角度对岩石进行施工。然而，当在坚硬的岩石中工作时，进展是乏味且缓慢的，也许每天只有30厘米，这导致隧道工程持续多年。

总结

Roman roads were, then, the arteries of the empire. They connected communities, cities, and provinces, and without them, the Romans could surely not have conquered and held onto the vast territories they did over so many centuries. Further, such were the engineering and surveying skills of the Romans that many of their roads have provided the basis for hundreds of today's routes across Europe and the Middle East. Many roads in Italy still use the original Roman name for certain stretches, and even some bridges, such as at Tre Ponti in modern Fàiti, still carry road traffic today.

罗马道路就是帝国的动脉。它们连接着社区、城市和省份，如果没有它们，罗马人肯定不可能在这么多世纪里征服并守住他们广大的领土。此外，由于罗马人的工程和测量技能，他们的许多道路为今天横跨欧洲和中东的数百条路线提供了基础。意大利的许多道路在某些路段上仍然使用原来的罗马名称，甚至一些桥梁，如现代法伊蒂的特雷庞蒂，今天仍在承载着公路交通。