<P> Inscriptions on Roman triumphal arches were works of art in themselves, with very finely cut, sometimes gilded letters . The form of each letter and the spacing between them was carefully designed for maximum clarity and simplicity, without any decorative flourishes, emphasizing the Roman taste for restraint and order . This conception of what later became the art of typography remains of fundamental importance down to the present day . </P> <P> Roman roads were vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 500 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire . They provided efficient means for the overland movement of armies, officials and civilians, and the inland carriage of official communications and trade goods . At the peak of Rome's development, no fewer than 29 great military highways radiated from the capital, and the Late Empire's 113 provinces were interconnected by 372 great road links . Roman road builders aimed at a regulation width (see Laws and standards above), but actual widths have been measured at between 3.6 ft (1.1 m) and more than 23 ft (7.0 m). Today, the concrete has worn from the spaces around the stones, giving the impression of a very bumpy road, but the original practice was to produce a surface that was no doubt much closer to being flat . </P> <P> The Romans constructed numerous aqueducts in order to bring water from distant sources into their cities and towns, supplying public baths, latrines, fountains and private households . Waste water was removed by complex sewage systems and released into nearby bodies of water, keeping the towns clean and free from effluent . Aqueducts also provided water for mining operations, milling, farms and gardens . </P> <P> Aqueducts moved water through gravity alone, being constructed along a slight downward gradient within conduits of stone, brick or concrete . Most were buried beneath the ground, and followed its contours; obstructing peaks were circumvented or, less often, tunnelled through . Where valleys or lowlands intervened, the conduit was carried on bridgework, or its contents fed into high - pressure lead, ceramic or stone pipes and siphoned across . Most aqueduct systems included sedimentation tanks, sluices and distribution tanks to regulate the supply at need . </P>

Who created the building system that allowed rome to develop