Itiner-e is a new high-resolution digital dataset that maps terrestrial routes across the Roman Empire around 150 C.E., identifying about 62,000 miles of previously unmapped or inaccurately located roads. The project digitizes 14,769 segments (34.6% main, 65.4% secondary) but notes only 2.7% of locations are highly certain; most remain less precise. While the map provides a comprehensive snapshot at the empire’s height, it does not show changes over time and should be used as a foundation for further research into mobility, administration and disease spread.
Itiner-e Reveals 62,000 Miles of Previously Unknown Roman Roads
Itiner-e is a new high-resolution digital dataset that maps terrestrial routes across the Roman Empire around 150 C.E., identifying about 62,000 miles of previously unmapped or inaccurately located roads. The project digitizes 14,769 segments (34.6% main, 65.4% secondary) but notes only 2.7% of locations are highly certain; most remain less precise. While the map provides a comprehensive snapshot at the empire’s height, it does not show changes over time and should be used as a foundation for further research into mobility, administration and disease spread.
09:18 PM, 11/13/2025Science
Researchers map tens of thousands of miles of Roman-era routes
An international team of researchers has produced a high-resolution digital reconstruction of the Roman Empire’s terrestrial routes around 150 C.E., revealing roughly 62,000 miles of Roman-era roads that were not previously identified or accurately mapped.
New dataset: Itiner-e
The project—led by institutions in Denmark and Barcelona—assembled a new dataset and interactive map called Itiner-e. The team combined historical records, topographic charts and modern satellite imagery to trace roads across the empire’s nearly 1.5-million-square-mile territory at its greatest extent.
“This resource is transformative for understanding how mobility shaped connectivity, administration, and even disease transmission in the ancient world,” the authors wrote in a paper published in the journal Scientific Data.
What they found
Itiner-e digitizes 14,769 road segments. Of these, the researchers classify 34.6% as main roads and 65.4% as secondary routes. They report that only 2.7% of road locations are known with high spatial certainty; 89.8% have lower precision, and 7.4% are currently hypothetical and require further evidence.
The dataset adds many routes across the Iberian Peninsula, Greece and North Africa and refines previously proposed alignments so they follow realistic terrain—winding mountain passes and river valleys—rather than straight, implausible lines. The authors note Romans often adopted and upgraded older tracks, so pre-Roman routes that remained in use are included when evidence supports them.
Limitations and value
Itiner-e captures a snapshot of the road network at the empire’s maximum territorial extent around 150 C.E. (when the population was roughly 55 million across regions that now include parts of Britain, Egypt and Syria). The dataset does not track changes over time, but it provides a baseline for future research into connectivity, administration, trade and disease transmission in antiquity.
The researchers also provide confidence maps to visualize spatial uncertainty, showing variation in road density, digitization accuracy and source reliability across regions. They hope the public release of Itiner-e will spark further study and refinement, especially of secondary and hypothesized routes.
Implications: By nearly doubling the mapped length of the Roman road network, Itiner-e transforms how scholars can study mobility, governance, economy and epidemiology in the ancient world—and offers a rich, sharable resource for archaeologists, historians and modelers.