"All roads lead to Rome"

I have been doing some delving.

Philippi was the first Christian community to be established. The river there is the Krenides – a squitty bit of a stream compared to our creeks. Strong current though. Perhaps it flows from snowy mountains?

I find it interesting that Paul didn't do his preaching at the seaside town of Neapolis which is close by.

Roman roads have long had my interest. They were so good, and so many of them can still be traced. 

One writer tells us the Romans were “superb road builders”. (https://www2.luthersem.edu/ckoester/Paul/journey2/ThessEgnatian.htm)

One photo I found shows big rocks in place, forming the road surface. [Ed: The photo at left is from Pompeii. I think I need to go there!]

Of course, the Romans also built long-lasting roads in England too.

[Ed: These roads were like today’s internet. Everyone was on them. Two important roads were the Appian Way and the Via Egnatia.]

Wikipedia has this about the Appian Way in Rome [Ed: called the “Queen of Roads” by some writers]:

The Appian Way was used as a main route for military supplies since its construction for that purpose in 312 B.C.

The Appian Way was the first long road built specifically to transport troops outside the smaller region of greater Rome (this was essential to the Romans). By the late Republic, the Romans had expanded over most of Italy and were masters of road construction. Their roads began at Rome, where the master itinerarium, or list of destinations along the roads, was located, and extended to the borders of their domain — hence the expression, "All roads lead to Rome". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appian_Way

From http://www.bibleplaces.com/philippi/, we learn about the Via Egnatia.

The Via Egnatia (Greek: Ἐγνατία Ὁδός) was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed the Roman provinces of Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thrace, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey.

Starting at Dyrrachium (now Durrës) on the Adriatic Sea, the road followed a difficult route along the river Genusus (Shkumbin), over the Candaviae (Jablanica) mountains and thence to the highlands around Lake Ohrid. It then turned south, following several high mountain passes to reach the northern coastline of the Aegean Sea at Thessalonica. From there it ran through Thrace to the city of Byzantium (later Constantinople, now Istanbul). 

It covered a total distance of about 1,120 km (696 miles / 746 Roman miles). Like other major Roman roads, it was about six metres (19.6 ft) wide, paved with large polygonal stone slabs or covered with a hard layer of sand.

How well were the Roman Roads constructed? My research shows me that they contained layers as follows:

·       Sand

·       Stone slabs in cement

·       Crushed stone in cement

·       Stone blocks

And there were drainage ditches at the sides.

Joyce Voysey