Petersburg High School - Missile Yearbook (Petersburg, VA)

Page 26 text:

20 The Missile For the pedestrian, foot paths were made on either side of the road with frequent stepping stones so he might cross to the other side above the mud and dust of the wagon way. There were also seats made by the mile- stones for the convenience of travelers. Blocks of stones were made for the horsemen to mount and dismount. Fountains and watering troughs for men and cattle were made by the springs. Some of the roads went one hun- dred years without repairs. In the construction of the road first a cut was made of sufficient width and depth to hold a filling which varied with the nature of the soil. The earth at the bottom of this cut was made level, and upon this was put the statu- men, a foundation of course stones not too large to hold in the hand. Over this was put the rudus, a nine inch layer of concrete made of broken stone and lime. Over this came the nucleus, a six inch bed of fine concrete made of broken potsherds and lime in which was set the dorsum or final course of blocks of lava or some other hard stone. This was furnished by the adjacent country. These blocks were laid with care so as to leave no seams or fissures to admit water or jar the wheels of vehicles. On less traveled branch roads the agger seems to have consisted of a thick course of gravel instead of blocks of stone. The Flaminian Way, constructed by censor Flaminius, led from Rome to the North. Aemilius Lepidus, consul for the year 180 B. C., con- structed the great road which bore his name through the new colony of Bononia to Placentia. This was a con- tinuation of the Flaminian Way. Augustus knit the empire together by building a net- work of well paved military roads over the remotest parts of the Roman world. All of these roads were used for sending supplies to the frontier and the massing of troops in the shortest time. Lois Barnes .

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The Missile 19 Unman ItWitaru Unaba. M ilitary roads were one of the chief means by which Rome held and controlled acquired terri- tory. The first great military road was due to an old censor, Appius Claudins. This road was built in 312 B C. and was called the Via Appia. The Appian Way greatly benefited the industrial and commercial classes, and it still remains to preserve the memory of its builder. Other roads rapidly followed and by the close of the Punic Wars solid roads carried by engineers’ arts over broad and rapid streams through difficult mountain passes, had already linked Rome with Capua in the South and with a few cities in the North. A net work of military roads connected the Latin col- onies with one another and with the mother city. In Italy the roads were built at the cost of the State. In prov- inces the conquered communities bore the expenses, but the work was done under the direction ofRoman engineers. The roads ran in straight lines between the cities they were to connect with frequent cross-roads and branch roads less carefully constructed. The hills were cut through, rivers were crossed, and valleys and marshes were spanned by viaducts. The roads were solid walls fifteen feet high. The surfaces were smooth and round- ed off with gutters at either side to carry off the rain and melted snow. Milestones were put along the road which showed the distance from the starting point of the road to an important city in the opposite direction. Some- times the names of the consuls or emperors under whom the roads were built were put on the milestones. The roads were wide enough for the largest wagons to pass,

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STAFF. Anne Gilliam, ’19 Editor-in-Chief ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sadie Zimmerman, ' 19 Sarah Cooper, ’20. Edward Meakin, ’19 Exchange Editor Emily Roper, ’21 Alunani Editor Ernest Williams, ' 20 Boys’ Athletic Editor Lelia Drewry, ’21 Girls’ Athletic Editor Mary Nichols, ’20 Head Reporter Samuel Reinach, ’20 Business Manager Ramsey Leigh, ’20 Assistant Business Manager Irvin Eigenbrun, ’21 Second Assistant Business Manager Eugene Bain, ’20 Circulating Manager Horace Woodhouse, ’20 Assistant Circulating Manager Robert Budd, ’21 Joke Editor Hettie Ellis, ’21 Art Editor Published six times during the school year, at regular intervals, by the pupils of the Petersburg High School. Subscription price: 50c. per session; 10c. the single copy. Address all communications to Petersburg High School, Petersburg, Virginia. Entered as second-class matter at postoffice, Petersburg, Va. Att Appeal to % Alumni. The “Missile” has been doing everything within its power to arouse the alumni to an interest in their Alma Mater. Through our “Alumni Notes” we have showed our graduates that we are following them even though it be across the seas. In our last issue of the “Missile” a new scheme was tried to make our alumni wake up. Wallace Ridout, of the 1916 class, started a series of ar-