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alan P
Lv 7
alan P asked in Arts & HumanitiesHistory · 1 decade ago

What side of the road did the Romans travel on.?

In Britain today we drive on the other side of the road to most of the rest of Europe. However during the Roman occupation, people using those excellent Roman roads must surely have travelled on a standard side of the road throughout the Empire. What side of the road was that? Why is Britain different today?

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    They travelled on the left side.The shift to the right side in Europe is accredited to Napoleon Bonaparte,who was left handed and therefor found it more convenient to pull his sword,which was on his right side,out of its scabbard and bring it down on someone's head.This is the legend,but seems rather unlikely to be accurate since Napoleon was probably very seldom walking at the front of an army with the need to pull out his sword and clock someone with it.No matter,it seems to be about that time that people made the change.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I would imagine that Romans being Romans and being the bosses, they travelled down the centre, much the same as Spaniads do in Spain. Give a spaniard an inch and he takes it. Anyway, have you checked on the width of a Roman road, When a cohort was marching they must have taken up the whole road.....

  • 5 years ago

    The Roman empire was built by its legions,and the roads weren't for trade or for travel,but so the legions could move around the empire swiftly. The roads were usually built by the legions,went from one legionary base to another,were constructed in such a way that rain water drained off to the sides so the soldiers could march along them more easily,and Roman roads were purposely built wide enough so that 2 legions in normal marching order could pass each other going in opposite directions without any danger of a log jam or gridlock or either having to change their marching order or pace. Roman roads were the arteries along which life around the Roman world flowed,write about them.

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    They drove on the left, as in Britain today. Interesting and almost unrelated fact: Do you know why rail gauges are 4' 8 1/2"? Not knowing what size to make them, the designers went out on those old roads, measured the ruts from Roman chariot wheels and concluded by averaging them that that was the track width of a chariot.

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  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    Rome is undoubtedly one the most wonderful towns on the planet; each year millions of tourists result from all over the world to enjoy the items and designs of Roman art and structure and to be one you will have to begin with Hotelbye . One of the very most popular of Rome's several squares is Piazza Navona. That place preserves the form of the Stadium of Domitian that when stood here. Piazza Navona was builted by Emperor Domitian in 86 AD and has three spectacular fountains.

  • 1 decade ago

    Conquering heroes drive straight down the middle.

    England started driving on the left. Non-Commonwealth countries drive on the right - probably bloody mindedness, but trains in Europe normally travel on the left, a convention which hasn't been changed.

  • Anonymous
    7 years ago

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  • 1 decade ago

    They were the most powerful army in the world. They probably marched on any side they wanted to. However, during the period of the Roman army that imitated the greek phalanx they probably marched on the right.

  • 1 decade ago

    They marched on the left. They must have done as they used swords and would have wanted their right hand on the outside. In the times of knights and horses every one traveled on the left as well, for the same reason. Europe now drives on the right and I would like to say it is because of Napoleon but I'm not sure.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    the romans had great rodes but they didant have that caint of laws in trafic i think britain and her's former colonies travel on the left side because the british think their better then evryone else so they vanna be difrent

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