11 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

1800 Years Old Roman Milestone Used as Seat at Turkish Mosque

A milestone from the Roman Emperor Gordianus III period, which dates to 239 AD, was discovered in the Fatsa district of Ordu province in northeastern Türkiye.

Roman milestones, or “milliarium,” were significant landmarks along the extensive road system of the Roman Empire. These stone markers made it easier for travelers to find their way through the extensive and intricate network of Roman roads by showing the distance to the closest town or city.

These milestones, which were typically placed one Roman mile apart (1,480 meters or 4,850 feet), were marked with details like the road’s name, the distance to the next destination, and occasionally the name of the emperor or the official in charge of building it. Many of these milestones have survived and provide valuable insights into the engineering, culture, and history of ancient Rome.

It was determined that the 1800-year-old milestone was used as a seat by the mosque congregation and citizens for years.

  The stone discovered near the Laleli Central Mosque in the Bolaman neighborhood of Fatsa district was noticed by Aydın Bal, a literature teacher at Fatsa Cahit Zarifoğlu High School.

Photo: DHA

The authorities who took action upon Bal’s notification were Fatsa Municipality Culture Director Cevat Erbil and Ordu University Art History Department Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seçkin Evcim examined the stone and determined that it was a milestone from the Roman period.

The inscription on the stone was translated by Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Sami Öztürk, an epigraphy and linguistics expert from Marmara University. The emperor’s name was honored and this road was rebuilt by him, according to the translated stone inscription.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Seçkin Evcim stated that they think that the stone was erected for the construction of a natural harbor road between Bolaman and Yalıköy during the Roman period and said, “The stone found in the second mile of this road was erected for the construction of a natural harbor road between Bolaman and Yalıköy. Unfortunately, the stone was not in its original place; it was found in the 1970s while the mosque’s foundation was being laid and then it was tilted on its side and used for seating.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evcim stated that a milestone was discovered for the first time in Ordu and that the stone was taken to the Ordu Museum with the support of Fatsa Municipality. Since the stone is not in its original position, additional research will be evaluated in the future.

The history of Fatsa goes back to antiquity, when the coast was settled by Cimmerians, and Pontic Greeks in the centuries B.C. Under Nero, the kingdom became a Roman province in A.D. 62. In about 295, Diocletian (r. 284–305) divided the province into three smaller provinces, one of which was Pontus Polemoniacus, called after the Roman client-king Polemonium I, which was its administrative capital.

Cover Image Credit: DHA

Related Articles

Ancient Cymbals Unearthed in Oman Reveal Shared Musical Traditions Across Bronze Age Cultures

8 April 2025

8 April 2025

Recent archaeological discoveries in Oman have unveiled significant insights into the musical practices of Bronze Age societies, suggesting a rich...

3,000-Year-Old Iron Age Statuette Discovered in Italian Lake, With Fingerprints of Maker

17 August 2024

17 August 2024

During work in Lake Bolsena, a volcanic lake in central Italy, at the submerged archaeological site of Gran Carro, a ...

Viennese Archaeologists Find LEGIO XIII GEMINA Bricks

1 February 2024

1 February 2024

The fourth oldest school in Vienna, the Kindermanngasse Elementary School, is being completely renovated. As part of the renovation of...

5500-year-old city gate unearthed in Israel -the earliest known in the Land of Israel-

15 August 2023

15 August 2023

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday that archaeologists have discovered the earliest known ancient gate in the land of...

Viking Dentistry Was Surprisingly Advanced And Not Unlike Today’s Treatments

15 December 2023

15 December 2023

Viking Age teeth at Varnhem indicate surprisingly advanced dentistry, according to the results of a study conducted at the University...

Significant Archaeological Discovery on Failaka Island: Hellenistic Courtyard and Building Unearthed

17 February 2025

17 February 2025

The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) has announced a remarkable archaeological find on Failaka Island, revealing a...

A ‘very rare’ clay figurine of god Mercury and a previously unknown Roman settlement were discovered at the excavation site in Kent

23 February 2024

23 February 2024

At a previously unknown Roman settlement that was formerly next to a busy port but is now 10 miles from...

Stonehenge could be a solar calendar, according to a new study

2 March 2022

2 March 2022

A new study posits that the Stonehenge circles served as a calendar that tracks the solar year of 365.25 days,...

Imperial cult temple discovered in Spello: It opens a new chapter in the Roman Empire’s transition from paganism to Christianity

6 January 2024

6 January 2024

American researchers have announced the discovery of an Imperial cult temple in Spello, Italy. The discovery was announced by Douglas...

Ancient Egyptian silos and administrative buildings uncovered at Kom Ombo in Egypt’s Aswan

6 March 2022

6 March 2022

The Egyptian-Austrian archaeological mission working in the Temple of Kom Ombo in Egypt’s southern province of Aswan unearthed an administrative...

New Huge Viking-age boat grave discovered by Radar in Norway

12 April 2022

12 April 2022

Archaeologists have located a boat grave from the Viking Age near Øyesletta in Norway during a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey....

Ground-penetrating radars reveal hidden passages, described in Leonardo’s drawings

16 January 2025

16 January 2025

As part of a PhD thesis, an innovative technological investigation conducted by the Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with the...

Parts of the City of the old city of Ghadames called the pearl of the desert collapsed due to rainfall

28 January 2022

28 January 2022

Some parts of the Old City of Ghadames, located in an oasis about 600km southwest of Tripoli near Libya’s border...

12 tombs with Beautiful Decorations and Carved Bricks from the period of Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, found in China

22 May 2023

22 May 2023

China has a rich history. In addition to the fossil records from the Paleolithic Period, the country has witnessed the...

1,400-year-old coins found in a piggy bank in ancient city of Hadrianopolis

3 January 2024

3 January 2024

Archaeologists unearthed a collection of 10 coins believed to date back nearly 1,400 years, retrieved from what appears to be...