It was claimed to be the oldest road in the worlduntil the 2009 discovery of a 6,000-year-old trackway in Plumstead, London.
Brick-paved streets were used in India as early as 3000 BC.
In 500 BC, Darius I the Great started an extensive road system for Persia (Iran), including the Royal Road, which was one of the finest highways of its time. The road remained in use after Roman times.
In ancient times, transport by river was far easier and faster than transport by road,especially considering the cost of road construction and the difference in carrying capacity between carts and river barges. A hybrid of road transport and ship transport beginning in about 1740 is the horse-drawn boat in which the horse follows a cleared path along the river bank.