The Roman Empire was formed in the 8th century BC. It was one of the most prosperous civilizations in history, characterized by strong military and political power, which led it to have a large territorial extension. Below we have selected the most outstanding inventions of Ancient Rome .
Aqueducts
The Romans were excellent builders. In addition to building roads to unite their entire territory, which had an area of more than 1.5 million square kilometers, they also built aqueducts. Thanks to them, a great qualitative leap was made in terms of sanitation and public health . What is most surprising of all is that some of the aqueducts are still standing today, more than 2,000 years later.
Newspapers
One of the most unknown inventions of Ancient Rome is newspapers . In society, public debates were held continuously, and there were people who were in charge of transmitting the news related to the army, as well as civil and legal issues.
The Romans created the ‘Acta Diurna’, a kind of newspaper made up of rock plates and carved metal . In the ‘Acta Diurna’ the most relevant news of the day was communicated, and in 120 BC it began to be handed over to the Romans.
Surgical tools
The Romans were also the first to make modern surgical tools to heal soldiers who had been wounded in combat . In the Roman armies there were highly trained physicians, some of whom devised procedures to reduce blood loss and thus increase the chances of survival.
Heating
It was the Romans who took the first steps in heating . What they did was create hollow spaces in the columns for hot air to circulate around the building. As hot air always rises, it was supplied from a furnace located under the house. In this way, the air rose through the hollow spaces left in the columns, thus heating the entire house.
Julian calendar
It was Julius Caesar who introduced the Julian calendar in 46 BC. He decided to reform the Roman calendar , which had been in force since the Romans conquered Egypt. The Julian calendar divided the year into 365 days and 12 months, as well as a leap day that would be added to February every four years. At the end of the 16th century the Gregorian calendar was introduced, which was really only 0.002% more accurate than the Julian one.
