The Roman Empire was one of the most technologically advanced civilizations of the ancient world. Even to this day, many people still revel over their

The Roman Empire was one of the most technologically advanced civilizations of the ancient world. Even to this day, many people still revel over their impressive engineering skills that served as the foundation for many of the inventions that play a huge role in our day to day lives. Some of these you may already know of, but let’s take a look at some of the most important Roman inventions. 1. Bound Books Before the first bound book was created, the Romans would inscribe information onto clay slabs and scrolls. That is until Julius Caesar came up with the idea to have important documents stored in a collection of papyrus pages that could be carried around without much effort. The codex, as it was called, also allowed for the information to be numbered and listed with a table of condex and index, which made it easier to retrieve the necessary information instead of wasting time flipping through pages. They also included a hard built-in protective cover that kept the papers safe from external damages. 2. Roman Numerals Even though we use the Hindu-Arabic numeral system, the Roman numerals still play a crucial role in our language. The numbers in the system are represented by a combination of letters from the Latin alphabet namely I, V, X, L, C, D, and M which is equivalent to 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000, respectively. They are frequently used in academic studies and research papers, not to mention that they sometimes serve as hour markings on a clock’s face, or even to denote the chapters of a book. Overall, the use of Roman numerals is still very much widespread and still greatly influences our everyday life. 3. Concrete It should be mentioned that the Ancient Romans weren’t the first to create concrete, but they were definitely the first to utilize this material on an extensive scale. They created their concrete using a mixture of volcanic ash, lime and seawater and by the year 200 B.C., concrete was one of the most important building materials that was implemented in the majority of their constructions. This greatly reinforced all of their structures, many of which are now thousands of years old, but still standing to this day. Many are even said to be stronger than most of our modern buildings. 4. Apartments Rome was one of the first urban, apartment-based societies where multiple people lived under the same building. They were known as insulae, and often consisted of six to eight apartment blocks that were built around a staircase and even consisted of a central courtyard. The upper blocks were used to house poor workers who couldn’t afford a traditional house, while landlords rented the very bottom spots to shops. When you think about it, this is no different than modern apartment buildings. Rome was truly ahead of its time, don’t you agree? 5. Sewers and Sanitation Cleanliness meant a lot to the Ancient Romans, and that included having frequent access to fresh water in the cities. This was accomplished via aqueduct systems. As for their waste, they took care of that by developing innovative sewer systems and sanitary management. They would connect the aqueduct to drainage pipes so that water running off from streams would regularly flush everything outside of the city. And they also had a type of public “bathroom” to ensure that everyone was clean and that the streets remained clear of human waste.

The Most Important Roman Inventions

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