How did people travel in Roman Britain?
In Roman times people travelled on land on horseback, in carts pulled by oxen, or walking. Before the Romans, Britain had no proper roads. The Roman soldiers built good roads. All the roads they built were remarkably straight. The Romans knew that the shortest distance from one place to another is a straight line, but their roads did zigzag sometimes, to make going uphill easier. The Romans built their roads on foundations of clay, chalk and gravel. They laid bigger flat stones on top. The road sloped from the middle to ditches either side, so rain water drained off. Back to top What was it like in Roman Britain? Most of Roman Britain was wild, with forests and hills where few people lived. Away from the towns, people lived in villages of round wooden houses with thatched roofs, much as they had before the Romans arrived. Some wealthy Romans lived in villas. Villas were large farms with a big house for the owners. Servants and farm workers lived in small wooden houses. Villas had rooms
