Milestone / portion

Object/Artifact

-

Trimontium Museum

Name/Title

Milestone / portion

Entry/Object ID

X.FV 30

Description

Segment of a Roman milestone recording the distance from the fort at Newstead (Trimontium), from Ingliston. Shaped as a tall pillar with decoration at the top in relief. Both pieces are damaged. The bottom of the pillar is reconstructed.

Use

The Romans built a network of proper roads in southern Scotland where there had been only tracks and paths before. They were used to move troops and supplies around the province with speed and efficiency. Milestones showed the distances between specific places.

Context

These two pieces of a milestone were found at Ingliston in Midlothian. They record the distance from the Roman fort at Newstead, known as Trimontium in Roman times, from Ingliston. The milestone was erected between 140 and 144 AD. Recorded as seen at Ingliston House, Kirkliston, Midlothian in 1697 by Sir Robert Sibbald. Taken by Sibbald to Edinburgh.

Collection

National Museums Scotland

Category

Milestone

Acquisition

Accession

X.FV 30

Made/Created

Date made

140 - 144

Time Period

2nd century

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Continent

Europe

Country

Scotland

* Untyped Cultural Region

United Kingdom

Culture/Tribe

Roman

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Transcription

I[mp(eratori) Caes(ari) T(ito)] [Ael(io) Hadr(iano) Anto-] nino Aug(usto) Pio p(atri) p(atriae) co(n)s(uli) [I]II ⟦[---]⟧ ⟦[---]⟧ [co]h(ors) I Cugernor(um) [Tri]monti(o) m(ilia) p(assuum) [...]

Language

Latin

Translation

For the Emperor Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Augustus Antoninus Augustus Pius, father of his country, thrice consul, … the First Cohort of Cugerni (set this up). From Trimontium … miles.

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Tertiary Object Term

Milestone

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Marker, Distance

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Marker, Site

Nomenclature Class

Site Features

Nomenclature Category

Category 01: Built Environment Objects

Getty AAT

Concept

milestones

Material

Stone

Color

Tan, Gray

Web Links and URLs

National Museums of Scotland web link to artefact, Artefact page on NMS Scran, Artefact entry in Roman Inscriptions of Britain, "Two Inscribed Roman Stones and Architectural Fragments from Scotland", G.S. Maxwell, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. 113, 1984, p.379-390.

Research Notes

Research Type

Scholar

Person

A.R. Birley

Date

1981

Notes

Lines 5-6 have been deliberately erased, apparently to remove a governor’s name, that of the unknown successor to Lollius Urbicus. Birley, The Fast of Roman Britain (Oxford)