The mile markers along our interstate highways today are not a modern innovation. The idea goes back at least 2,000 years. There is substantial archaeological evidence of mile markers (miliarium) on ancient Roman roads, beginning with the Via Appia, which goes from Rome to southern Italy.
Many of the originally six-foot-high milestones are still visible along preserved sections of the 75,000-mile network of roads throughout the Roman empire. Ancient Romans determined the distance between markers as 1,000 paces (Latin: mille passuum) by a soldier, from which we derived the English “mile.” Since a double step (pace) was about 4.85 feet (4,850 feet between markers), it was a little short of our current definition of the measured mile (5,280 feet).
Roman markers went out of use in the sixth century. One thousand years later, India introduced their Kos Minars (two miles apart) – brick pillars which were thirty-feet tall. Whether in the Roman empire or India, their purpose was as navigation guides for travelers and for royal propaganda–such as displaying the name of the emperor, and a reminder of imperial power.
It was this network of Roman roads which made Paul’s missionary journeys possible. Though not built for that purpose by the Romans, God was using their highways as the means for rapid spread of the Good News of salvation through faith in Jesus. Perhaps an example of God’s impeccable timing, “But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son…” (Galatians 4:4).
Source: Biblical Archaeology Review, Fall 2025, p. 20
