This study examined the structural, functional, and philosophical design principles embedded in ancient road engineering — particularly Roman, Persian, and Incan road networks spanning over 3,000 years — and applied these principles as analytical benchmarks against contemporary educational curriculum design frameworks. Using a mixedmethods approach that integrated time-series analysis of curriculum relevance trends from 2000 to 2025 and a thematic analysis of 80 documentary sources drawn from archaeology, educational theory, and comparative design literature, the research revealed a profound and statistically significant divergence: while ancient roads maintained a durability and functional relevance index consistently above 93% across the study period, modern curriculum relevance scores declined sharply from 82% in 2000 to just 20% by 2025, a net deterioration of 62 percentage points (Mann-Kendall τ = −0.94, p < 0.001). Thematic analysis identified six core design principles — structural adaptability, community engagement, long-term planning, resource efficiency, knowledge transfer, and systems thinking — all of which were demonstrably more prevalent in ancient road design than in modern educational frameworks, with frequency ratios ranging from 1.77 to 2.61. Institutional-level analysis across 40 educational institutions demonstrated that higher alignment with ancient-derived design principles was strongly correlated with improved student retention, completion, and satisfaction outcomes (r = 0.87, R² = 0.756, p < 0.001). The study concluded that modern educational design suffers from a fundamental failure of long-term thinking, adaptability, and community embeddedness — all qualities that ancient road engineers mastered millennia ago. The study recommended the integration of antiquity-informed design protocols into curriculum development processes, the establishment of longitudinal curriculum review mechanisms, and cross-disciplinary collaboration between archaeologists, educators, and policy designers.