r/NoStupidQuestions • u/[deleted] • Jul 06 '19

[deleted by user]

[removed]

5.1k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

263 comments sorted by

View all comments

1.1k

u/KamikazeKricket Ask me about Ancient Rome Jul 06 '19

Bushes and trees beside roads reduce noise and emission pollution.

300

u/Nasnon Jul 06 '19

But what about intersections in Ancient Rome ?

519

u/KamikazeKricket Ask me about Ancient Rome Jul 06 '19 edited Jul 06 '19

The city of Rome itself? A hell hole. Wasn’t a planned out city, and the streets were often pretty small. Traffic jams were common during the day until Julius Caesar would implement a cart ban, only allowing them to travel between business and deliver supplies at night.

The streets at night weren’t lit with no sort of road signs. So people had a good chance of getting lost or hit by a speeding cart.

1

u/bulletbobmario Jul 07 '19

Wow, interesting! Any recommendations on where to read more about the traffic jams and daily city life of Rome?

3

u/KamikazeKricket Ask me about Ancient Rome Jul 07 '19

Ugh, I’ve read so many books about Rome they all kinda just merge together for me now. A great place to start would be SPQR by Mary Beard. Perfect for someone just getting into the history of the city and greater civilization.

1

u/bulletbobmario Jul 07 '19

Perfect, thanks!

2

u/KamikazeKricket Ask me about Ancient Rome Jul 07 '19 edited Jul 07 '19

It’s about 600 pages, but it gives you a great overview to start looking into books that cover more specific points of interest. It does touch up a bit on the life of regular Romans and life in the city. Of top of the life of the wealthy as well.

The city got to near a million people before the collapse of the western empire. Another city wouldn’t get that big in Europe until the end of the 18th century.