Roman roads were much “too narrow for large carts”27 or wagons and in many places were far too steep for anything but foot traffic. In addition, the Romans often did not build bridges, relying on fords that could be crossed on foot but usually were too deep and the banks too steep for carts and wagons.28 These inadequacies of the Roman roads existed because, despite being “built and kept up at staggering public expense,”29 their sole purpose was to permit soldiers to march quickly from one part of the empire to another. Of course, civilian pedestrians used them too, as did animal and human
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