Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

This Digital Project Lets You Travel Ancient Rome

A team of two dozen scientists have created Itiner-e, a spectacular digital road atlas of the Roman imperial world that functions just like Google Maps but for ancient highways that existed around the year 150 CE. This groundbreaking research project is the most expansive study on the topic to date, increasing the estimated length of the empire’s road system by over 60,000 miles and bringing the total mapped network to an astonishing 180,000 miles across more than 1 million square miles. The international team used archaeological and historical records, topographic maps, and satellite imagery to map roads stretching from Britain in the north to Morocco in the south, eastward to Syrian deserts, and throughout Turkey and Bulgaria.

At its height in the second century CE, the Roman Empire maintained 55 million people with a sophisticated network of stone, gravel, and sand highways that allowed travelers to move at 2.4 miles per hour thanks to their excellent condition. The digital atlas reveals that approximately one third of roads were highways while two thirds would be considered secondary roads today, with the precise locations of only 2.7 percent known with absolute certainty. Using Itiner-e, history enthusiasts can plan actual Roman road trips, like the 447 hour journey from Salamanca, Spain to northern Italy that would wind through the Pyrenees, past Toulouse along the Cote d’Azur, over the French Alps, and through Turin. This extraordinary digital project brings ancient history to life, allowing anyone to explore how Romans traveled their vast empire and proving that their engineering genius created transportation infrastructure that rivals our modern systems.

PrevPreviousDad’s Front Yard Food Pantry Goes Viral
NextAfter Decade Of Service This Beloved Vendor Gets Holiday MiracleNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Dad’s Front Yard Food Pantry Goes Viral

November 18, 2025

AJ Owen and his seven and nine year old sons from Whitehall, Pennsylvania, decided to help people struggling with SNAP benefit cuts by setting up a free food pantry in their front yard, starting with just $150 worth of groceries from ALDI on Steelers Sunday. By the next morning, an

Read More
Happy News

The Spelling Bee Moment That Had Everyone Laughing

November 18, 2025

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is known as a serious competition where students study arduously to memorize root words and unusual spellings for a chance at a $50,000 cash prize and the title of national spelling champion. During the 2007 competition, 11 year old Kennyi Aouad approached the microphone with

Read More
Happy News

Nurses Transform Hospital Room Into Dream Wedding Venue

November 18, 2025

Harry Sweppenneiser lay in his hospital bed at Penn Presbyterian in Philadelphia when his son Allen shared incredible news, he was getting married and wanted his father to be part of the celebration. Nurse Manager Julie Seman and her team immediately sprang into action to make Harry’s dream of seeing

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2025 HappyNews.