7 Roman inventions: Incredible feats of ancient technology

[Judi Lynn]

By Ailsa Harvey published 3 days ago

Which ancient Roman inventions and technologies influenced the modern world?


Ancient Roman inventions and innovations didn't collapse with the Roman Empire. Although many millennia have passed, the masterful work of the Romans can still be spotted in daily life.

With an empire that spanned most of Europe, western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean, according to the journal Science, the Romans held enormous power and influence in the ancient world. From the 8th century B.C. when Rome was founded — to the Western Empire's collapse in the 5th century, Roman technology influenced some of the tools, architecture and city structure of the modern world.

The Romans were masters of early environmental engineering, for example using water and their knowledge of physics to produce energy for mills, according to the journal Nature. Meanwhile, down on the farm, they were able to maximize their crop yields By using crop rotations and the 'food, feed, fallow' system, according to the journal Agronomic Crops. Splitting farms into these three allotments ensured there were always crops ready to pick.

. . .

The Romans invented the hypocaust system — an early method for efficiently distributing heat. Click on the interactive image below to explore the features of this system.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/roman-inventions

[Irish_Dem]

1. I wonder if American ideas and inventions will live 2000 into the future.

Fun to think about.

Roman, Viking, British ideas and invention continue to live on even when their civilizations are gone or failing.

[nebby70]

2. has anyone here watched Time Team series out of the UK???

... it's kinda anthropology lite - but it's great fun...
... premise: team of anthropologist go to a site and dig -- spans all time eras -- but only have 3 days to do it...
... it still makes me wonder at 'who-thought-that-up' of many inventions ...
... try the show - there's a re-occurring 'cast' and each endearing in their own way ...
... I'm totally hooked on it

[niyad]

3. Three days?? Better be a VERY small site!

[ThoughtCriminal]

4. How did Roman engineers use math?

I have a hard time visualizing basic engineering without trigonometry and can't begin to imagine doing trig with Roman Numerals.

Obviously one or more of my assumptions is wrong. But which? All? Just don't say "Aliens".

[Duppers]

5. 🤔 Good question

This helped them a lot...




The Roman Abacus.

Also, found this very interesting article...
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/191885/how-did-anyone-do-math-in-roman-numerals/



Warning tho, other than this article, that city newspaper is mostly a bird cage rag.