Having for some time, extended its influence by diplomacy and trade,5 The Roman Empire began to take control in Britain from the year 43. An important part of the means of control was the building of soundly-built roads, running directly between key places.(6) This led the engineers to overcome all but the greatest obstacles rather than going round them. One result of this was that they built roads on soils which others would have avoided. When the Roman authorities had withdrawn from Britain and their roads wore out, people began to wander from the Roman road lines where they could find a more secure footing by taking another line.(7)