ABSTRACT
For the Romans had grasped the fact known to the Hittites in the fourteenth century BC and to the Chinese much later, in the third century BC, that the key to controlling an empire was a good system of roads. The Roman roads were built by the Roman army, but there was no specialised corps of engineers like the Royal Engineers of the British Army: rather, each legion of the Roman army included road building as integral part of its military duties and many of the roads were constructed on active service during campaigns. The Roman road between Salisbury and Dorchester has been the subject of archaeological excavation at a number of places. Roman roads varied considerably in their dimensions. Where provided, the agger was always much wider than the surfaced pavement.
