Historian Deciphers Prized Map of Ancient Rome

Historian Richard Talbert, a professor at the University of North Carolina, (in photo at lower right) uses his high energy and humor to engage students in their quest to understand how maps, like the Peutinger Map, can be judged.

The creation of the 22-foot-long map of the ancient Roman world (shown in photo at top) was a key moment in Western mapmaking, he said during a lecture he presented at Knox College on Sept. 13. The map was created in the fifth century.

The event was sponsored by Knox College and the Archaeological Institute of America.