What Have The Romans Ever Done For Us?

The sketch in Monty Python’s Life of Brian has stuck with me ever since I first saw it – what have the Romans ever done for us?

Because apart from the aqueduct, sanitation, education, medicine, wine, and most importantly, the roads… they didn’t do anything for them.

All jokes aside, Roman roads are revered for good reason – they’ve stood the test of time.

And this week, a section of one of Britain’s most important Roman roads was found lying under Old Kent Road in London.

At almost 2,000 years old, it makes me wonder if we could do with some Roman engineering to sort out all the potholes…

CLICK HERE to read the full story on how a 2,000-year-old Roman road has been unearthed in London

It was only thanks to archaeological work taking place as work to expand and improve the heating network begins that they found the famous stretch of road.

While it’s stunning to know that the road lies beneath our modern-day iteration, it’s probably for the best that we’re not attempting to put the heavy load of HGVs and traffic on Roman roads each and every day.

As good as they were, they weren’t built for modern vehicles!

Archaeologists had traced the route of Watling Street due to the tendency for Roman roads to follow a straight path but until now, they didn’t have proof of the precise route.

It makes me wonder whether I’m ever following the same route as Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius or Antoninus Pius…