Ask us of the following was a technological achievement of the ancient Romans which improved transportation for them?

Answer 1

One of the achievements was the construction of network of 400,000 kilometres (250,000 miles) of roads in the Roman Empire and of facilities along the roads which facilitated travel and transport.

The Romans had a government-supervised cursus publicus or cursus vehicularis, which was a courier and transportation service. It transported, public officials, and tax revenues and was used to send messages. In the Later Empire it had two branches, the fast one (cursus velox ) which used horses and/or mules (the veredi, saddle horses, and the parhippi, "pack-horses or mules) and a slower one (cursus clabularis) which used oxen-driven carts. Government information and/or instructions and military messengers were carried by soldiers who acted as dispatch riders. Private individuals hired their own messengers. The messengers changed horses frequently for greater speed. It has been estimated that they covered about 80 km (50 miles) per day.

The cursus publicus was an infrastructure of thousands of stations (stationes) along the main roads of the empire which supplied horses, transport animals (mules and donkeys) oxen for pulling carts, carts, fodder and food and accommodation. It has been estimated that staging stations were on average 12.4 km (7.7 mi) apart along the roads. To use the services of the cursus publicus you needed a licence (diploma) issued by the emperor. The staging stations were the mutationeswhich were privately-run stations which serviced vehicles and animals and had wheelwrights, cartwrights, and veterinarians. There were mansiones(staying places, singular mansio) every 20 to 30 km (15 to 18 miles. These were government-run, provided overnight accommodation for state messengers and officials were under the superintendence of an officer called mansionarius. The resting places for rich travellers and private couriers were the tabernae(singular taberna) which were originally houses near the roads which were required by law to provide accommodation on demand and developed into more luxurious rest place which catered for richer travellers. Ordinary people went to the smaller cauponae(private inns) near the masiones. They were seen as being disreputable and as being were frequented by thieves and prostitutes.

People walked (pedestrians could cover 20 to 25 km, 12 to 15 miles, a day) or travelled on ox-drawn or horse-drawn carts (which could cover up to 40 to 50 km, 25 to 30 miles, a day) or coaches which could carry coach parties. The most common one was the raedawhich was made of wood and was like a high box with a rounded roof. It could carry people and luggage up to a legal limit of 1,000 Romans pounds. There were also the readae meritoriae, which were hired coaches and the raediae fiscalis, which were government coaches.

The rich rode horses or used cars (carrus) which could carry a driver and one or two people. A two-horse carrus was called biga, a three-horse one triga and a four-horse one quadringa. They resembled the chariots of the archaic period of Rome. The carpentumwas a more comfortable mule-drawn carrus which was for women and government officials. It was roofed with a piece of material held by an arched frame. The cisiumwas a smaller version which acted as a cab.

There were also a courier services. One of this were government dispatch riders who, though a relay system could cover 800 km in 24 hours. The private mail of the rich was dispatched by the tabelarii, slaves who carried out the service for a price. Ordinary mail was transported by a vehicle called cisium.

Answer 2

Bridging.