They Drew So Little Water That They Could Proceed 100 Miles Up The
Great Rivers; And They Could Easily And Conveniently Be Carried On Waggons
From One River To Another.
We have already noticed the itineraries of the Roman empire:
Of these there
were two kinds, the _annotota_ and the _picta_; the first
containing merely the names of places; the other, besides the names, the
extent of the different provinces, the number of their inhabitants, the
names of the mountains, rivers, seas, &c.; of the first kind, the itinerary
of Antoninus is the most celebrated: to it we have already alluded: to the
second kind belong the Peutingarian tables, which are supposed to have been
drawn up in the reign of Theodosius, about the beginning of the fifth
century, though according to other conjectures, they were constructed at
different periods.
The beginning of the tables is lost, comprising Portugal, Spain, and the
west part of Africa; only the south-east coast of England is inserted.
Towards the east, the Seres, the mouth of the Ganges, and the island of
Ceylon appear, and routes are traced through the heart of India. Dr.
Vincent remarks, that it is a very singular circumstance that these tables
should have the same names in the coast of India as the Periplus, but
reversed. Mention is also made in them of a temple of Augustus or the Roman
emperor: these circumstances, Dr. Vincent justly observes, tend to prove
the continuance of the commerce by sea with India, from the time of
Claudius to Theodosius; a period of above 300 years.
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