The Technology of Ancient Rome

McCullough, Naomi. The Technology of Ancient Rome. 2017. Part of the Ancient Innovations series. 64p. ISBN 978-1-5026-2233-4. Available at 937 MCC on the library shelves.

The Roman Empire stretched from the Atlantic to the Middle East and from Britain to Egypt, controlling millions of people and countless countries. The will of the people of Rome motivated these conquests and powered the Empire’s drive, yet the Romans may not have left behind a lasting legacy was it not for their technology, which endures in many forms even today.

Seldom innovators, the Romans instead adopted technologies from those who surrounded them and adapted them for their own purposes, streamlining and increasing efficiencies along the way until they had built an unstoppable imperial machine. Paved roads had been constructed elsewhere in the world, but the Romans are the first to deploy an extensive network of paved roads with distance markers between their cities. Services such as hotels and motels developed along the roads and became popular with travelers. Bridges were constructed of stone and cement and spanned distances previously unfathomable.

Cities benefited from an increase in agricultural harvests with the improvement of water mills. Greek water mills could grind 15 pounds of wheat into flour in a day, but new designs and adaptations by the Romans increased this amount exponentially, such that many mills ground 20 to 30 tons of flour a day. Tools were designed to make the harvest process more efficients. Buildings were also improved with concrete, indoor plumbing and heating, while cheaper apartment building poorly constructed stretched to the skies. Aqueducts delivered water from far distances to quench the thirst of city residents. Bath houses and toilets provided a certain level of sanitary infrastructure unequaled for the next fifteen hundred years. Finally, medical innovations allowed soldiers to survive battles, new calendars more precisely tracked time, and the mass production of weapons and armor ensured that for centuries Rome’s might stood unchallenged.