Stronger Roads? Saskatchewan versus Ancient Rome.


By Jake G



Something that I have been contemplating about nearly every time I see an ancient Roman road is whether or not the roads from back home would even still have a semblance of being a road after 2000 years without repair. 

Every time my hypothesis is a resounding no. Modern asphalt versus ancient Roman cobblestone. The cobblestone is just too solid here.

When I was working on a paving crew I used to hear about how ancient Greece had asphalt. I never really looked into these claims nor did I take the word from my site supervisor to be scholarly. However, something that I can now say with certainty is that the Greeks and Romans both had access to asphalt according to an article "Nursing Mothers in Greek and Roman Medicine" by Julie Laskaris (459).

I know exactly what you're thinking right now because I'm thinking the exact same thing... Nothing strikes up the thought of paved asphalt roads quite like the thought of nursing babies right? Yeah, that definitely struck me as odd that asphalt was used as a chemical compound for nursing too. Regardless, it proves that the ancient Romans had access to asphalt and it also gives us insight on how inefficient asphalt was if they preferred to nurse babies with the stuff rather than pave roadways. Food for thought.

This is a road in Saskatchewan. Photo by Warren Nesland.




Notice how this road looks terrible? The overlapping layers of asphalt are sloppy patch jobs. I recognize this because a proper patch job involves milling the road first to then lay a patch of fresh asphalt next to the pieces of road that are still fine, it keeps things level. This is just some lazy patch job of shimmying a thin coat overtop a bad part of the road. My point with this is that it is not just the material that is to be blamed for the poor condition of roads. In the Roman period it was generally the military themselves that built their roads (Geotech, accessed 2024). This makes sense since the military needed reliable roads for their logistical needs. I don't imagine many choices rife with incompetence were welcomed when it came to serious matters such as installing reliable roads.


My former paving crews would have probably been subjected to decimation if we worked for the Roman Empire. I will still never forget the day that I asked a supervisor "hey aren't we not supposed to be paving in the snow." He turned to me and said "Kid, if we dont put this road down this season, we don't get paid this season." Myself and the other crewmates had a great time making jokes about being "Ice road pavers" that day. And that pretty well sums up the problem with why many of our roads don't last. I have paved in torrential downpours more times than I care to admit. 



A throwback to when I was paving roads.


This blog isn't to say that modern pavers, myself included don't try to do a good job and build roads to be reliable like Roman legionnaires did. It is merely to say that times are very different and the motivations and demands for roads for now since then are even more so. Still, I think I'd prefer an ancient Roman cobblestone driveway over modern asphalt when I get a house. 




Bibliography

“Ancient Roman roads – a monument to history and road construction.” Geotech. Accessed June 16, 2024. Ancient Roman roads - a monument to history and road construction (geotech.hr).

Laskaris, Julie. "Nursing Mothers in Greek and Roman Medicine." (2008): 459-464. Nursing Mothers in Greek and Roman Medicine on JSTOR.

Schriener, Penny. “CAA’s Saskatchewan’s Worst Roads List Names a Southwest Highway.” Swift Current Online. May 2021. CAA Saskatchewan's Worst Roads List Names a Southwest Highway - SwiftCurrentOnline.com - Local news, Weather, Sports, Free Classifieds and Job Listings. 










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