Of the wealth of geographical and cartographical data remaining from the Eastern world and the Greeks, the Romans were interested only in those elements that best suited their essentially practical needs. They virtually abandoned the studies of cosmography and mathematical geography, preferring to devote maximum effort to land surveys carried out by specialized military corps of land surveyors. From their topographical surveys and on-the-spot reconnaissance of places and cities, they formulated their itineraria scripta, publications similar in many respects to our tourist guides, and their itineraria picta, a kind of road map on which they stressed only those topographical features of use to travellers.