800-Year-Old Roman Empire Courier Map Goes on Display. Briefly.

Travel Blog  •  Michael Yessis  •  11.27.07 | 9:11 AM ET

tabula

The Tabula Peutingeriana (excerpt pictured), an 800-year-old copy of a chart used by the Roman Empire’s courier service, was pulled from the archives of Austria’s National Library yesterday as part of a celebration of its new “Memory of the World” status by UNESCO.

It was a rare display as too much exposure to light can swiftly damage the map. The 7-meter-long scroll, which outlines routes stretching as far as Spain, Britain, North Africa and China, is believed to have been copied in Germany in the 12th century.

Tags: Geography for Fun and Profit, Europe, Italy, News and Briefs


2 Comments for 800-Year-Old Roman Empire Courier Map Goes on Display. Briefly.

Ben 11.28.07 | 11:30 AM ET

An interesting thing the news doesn’t mention about this map: notice that it’s oriented East-West (reflecting the importance of the Mediterranean and its surrounding societies) rather than North-South, a more modern convention.

Michael Yessis 11.28.07 | 11:53 AM ET

Interesting, Ben. Anyone who follows the top link above can see the map in full—something I couldn’t really fit into the blog post.

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