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Roman authorities erected inscribed stone milestones to mark distances on their roads. They usually specify the date of the erection of the milestone and the responsible official or commander. Roman roads served primarily military and political objectives, but in effect they also improved commerce by facilitating the movement of people and the transportation of goods. Even though new milestones apparently ceased to be erected in the fourth century CE, some maintenance of Roman roads and the post or courier system survived in parts of the Near East as late as the end of the sixth and beginning of the seventh century.

Jerusalem On the Famous Mosaic Floor from Madaba

Name: Roman highway milestone

Material: Stone

Size: about 1.5 m (5 ft)

Date: 2nd century CE

Place of Origin: Jordan?

Location: Aqaba Archeological Museum, Jordan

Source and Registration#: Wikimedia Commons. Link to resource

Walter E. Kaegi

Professor of History, University of Chicago