Ancient Romans Got Their Wood From as Far Away as France, Study Finds

Wood planks unearthed during subway construction in Rome show just how far the empire's trade networks spread.

By Leslie Nemo
Dec 4, 2019 9:30 PMDec 4, 2019 9:55 PM
Roman Ruins
Ruins of a building from the Roman Empire in modern-day Rome (Credit: Shinedawn/Shutterstock)

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At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from Great Britain to Egypt and served tens of millions of people. Supporting that many people, and erecting the cities to house them, took massive amounts of stone, wood and other building materials. To feed their empire's ambitions, the Romans looked far beyond their Mediterranean homeland, researchers know.

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