Roman Republic · 312 BC

The Appian Way: Rome's first great road and aqueduct

In 312 BC one official, Appius Claudius, began both Rome's first great road and its first aqueduct. Students follow the Via Appia on the map and find out how Roman engineering tied an empire together.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, 312 BC to AD 100
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 312 BC one official, Appius Claudius, began both Rome's first great road and its first aqueduct. Students follow the Via Appia on the map and find out how Roman engineering tied an empire together.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain what Appius Claudius began in 312 BC and why.
  • Follow the Via Appia on the map and name its two end points.
  • Describe how a Roman road and an aqueduct were built and what they were used for.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

312 BC

The queen of roads

Open the map in 312 BC and turn on Trade Routes. Find the Via Appia and follow it from Rome to the port of Brundisium (Brindisi) on the Adriatic. Which two seas does it link?

Open this view on the map
b

312 BC

Straight through

Zoom in on the stretch southeast of Rome. Here the road runs almost dead straight for many kilometers, across the Pontine Marshes. Why would engineers want a straight road?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 100

Water for a city

Jump to 100 AD and turn on Historical Events. Find the Cultural Milestones markers for the Pont du Gard in Gaul and the aqueduct of Segovia in Hispania. Why did cities far from Rome copy its aqueducts?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Via Appia ran toward Capua during the Samnite Wars. Was the road built for trade or for war?
  2. Roman law banned burials inside the city, so tombs lined the roads outside. What would travelers see as they came into Rome?
  3. The Aqua Appia ran almost entirely underground. Why might that be a good idea?
  4. By the 3rd century AD the city of Rome had eleven aqueducts. What did such a big city need all that water for?
  5. Some routes of Roman roads are still used today. Why do good routes last so long?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Augustus, who took charge of Italy's roads and set up a golden milestone in the Forum in 20 BC. Discuss: why did the rulers of a big empire care so much about roads?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.