PERSPECTIVES ON ROMAN TECHNOLOGY

TLDR

The paper examines divergent views on Roman technology, exploring its concept through recent archaeological studies of boats, vehicles, water‑lifting devices, and water‑mills, and argues that technical innovation was possible despite the empire’s lack of an industrial revolution. The authors investigate Roman technology by analyzing recent archaeological evidence on boats, vehicles, water‑lifting devices, and water‑mills. They find that evolving technology is evident in civil and military engineering, particularly in food production and transport. References include White, O.

Abstract

Summary. This paper considers the very different views on Roman technology expressed by K.D. White, O. Wikander and J.P. Oleson. The concept of Roman technology is explored in the light of recent archaeological research into boats, vehicles, water‐lifting devices and water‐mills. It is argued that the application of appropriate, evolving, and occasionally innovative technology can be detected in several spheres of civil and military engineering, such as water‐supply and architecture. However, the application of technology is most impressive in the context of food production and transport. Whilst agreeing that the Roman empire was not fertile ground for an Industrial Revolution of the kind experienced in eighteenth‐century England, I hope to demonstrate that this conclusion does not require a wholesale rejection of the possibility of technical innovation.