I'm one of those that used to labor under the illusion of the "urban legend"
that standard gauge somehow developed from the ancient Roman roads. The
following article pretty much debunks that theory:
http://www.unc.edu/courses/rometech/public/content/transport/Adam_Pawluk/Contruction_and_Makeup_of_.htm
I'm living in Italy and have seen a variety of the ancient roads, and I can
only concur with the article's comments about the lack of standardization in
the "intentional ruts" in some of them.
But it surely did make for a nice story . . .
Ken Currie
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