> Romans could have invented steam engines if they wanted to.
They did not have the precursors to it, such as a lathe. Steam engine technology evolved out of cannon technology, which was developing for centuries before the steam engine. (The lathe also came about from cannon improvements.)
Most major inventions need a lot of available precursor technology, so it's actually kinda hard to think of things the Romans could have done if they only knew.
I keep thinking of a primitive printing press, but the Romans didn't have paper, either. Paper didn't appear in Europe before 1000 AD.
Actually it seems textile printing does have contemporary history. And maybe even older one. So jump from there to other materials might not be impossible.
Papyrus is also not a very good material for writing outside of arid areas compared to paper and especially parchment.
Unless kept in very good condition scrolls might last only a few decades. As far as we can tell many ancient texts were lost well before the Roman Empire declined because they weren’t popular enough for anyone to bother copying them.
I didn't know the Romans had the lathe. Thanks for the correction.
But they did not have a metal lathe, which is substantially more sophisticated. Invention of the metal lathe is credited to Henry Maudslay around 1800.
While steam engines with pistons existed before, the poor sealing because of inaccurate bores and pistons, made them not very efficient.
They did not have the precursors to it, such as a lathe. Steam engine technology evolved out of cannon technology, which was developing for centuries before the steam engine. (The lathe also came about from cannon improvements.)