Thurmaston Milestone

The Thurmaston milestone is a complete surviving miliarium originally erected on the Fosse Way two miles north of Ratae Corieltauvorum (Roman Leicester), Thurmaston in Leicestershire, now kept at the Jewry Wall Museum.{{cite web |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=319164&resourceID=19191 |title=Thurmaston Milestone |author= |website=heritagegateway.org.uk |publisher= Historic England |access-date=10 May 2025 }} It has been described as:

{{blockquote|"next to the Jewry Wall and it’s neighbouring mosaic pavements, the most important relic of the Roman period in Leicester.{{cite book | last = Fielding Johnson | first = Mrs. Thomas | date = 1891 | title = Glimpses of Ancient Leicester | url = https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p15407coll6/id/16128 | location = Leicester | publisher = John Thomas & Spencer | pages = 28-29 }}}}

File:Jewry Wall Museum - Thurmaston Milestone - geograph.org.uk - 2115536.jpg]]

Carved out of local limestone, it bears an inscription in honour of the Emperor Hadrian and was probably erected either in preparation for or in commemoration of his visit to Britain in 120 AD.{{cite book | last = Thompson | first = James | author-link = James Thompson (journalist) | date = 1849 | title = The history of Leicester: from the time of the Romans to the end of the seventeenth century | url = https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p15407coll6/id/18454/rec/4 | location = Leicester | publisher = crossley | page = 5 }} In the Middle Ages it served as the parish boundary marker between Thurmaston and Belgrave. {{cite journal |last=Bailey |first=Stuart |date=1 July 2011 |title=The Thurmaston Milestone |url=https://www.milestonesociety.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NL21.pdf |journal=The Milestone Society Newsletter |issue=21 |publisher=The Milestone Society |pages=26-28|access-date=10 May 2025}} Rediscovered in 1771 it was erected in 1783 as part of an obelisk on Belgrave Gate in what is now Leicester City Centre where it became a noted monument of the east suburb of Leicester. It was later installed in New Walk Museum in 1844 and later in the Jewry Wall Museum.{{cite web |url=https://sites.roosweb.com/~tmi45/Milestone.htm |title=Thurmaston Roman Milestone |author= |date=20 February 2014 |website=rootsweb.com |publisher=Thurmaston Heritage Group |access-date=10 May 2025 |quote=In 1771 a Roman milestone was discovered by workers involved in extracting gravel near the Fosse Road, by the old toll-gate at Thurmaston. For several years after its discovery the milestone remained exposed to the elements, until, in 1783, it was acquired by Leicester Corporation, who had it erected as part of a lamp standard in Belgrave Gate, Leicester. In 1844 the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society had the milestone removed to the Leicester Town Museum, as the stone was suffering from damage. Today the milestone is housed in Leicester's Jury Wall, Museum. }}{{cite web |url=https://imageleicestershire.org.uk/view-item?i=8130&WINID=1746854606285|title=Thurmaston Roman Milestone|author= |date=5 June 2013|website=imageleicestershire.org.uk |publisher= Leicester City Council|access-date=10 May 2025}}

The inscription reads as follows.

{{blockquote|IMPERATOR CAESAR, DIVI TRAJANI PARTHICI FILIUS DIVUS, TRAJANUS HADRIANUS AUGUSTUS, POTESTATE IV. CONSULATU III. A RATIS II.}}

Which in English translates to:

{{blockquote|Hadrian Trajan Augustus, Emperor and Caesar, the son of the most illustrious Trajan Parthicus, in the 4th year of his reign and his third consulate. From Ratae (Leicester) 2 miles.{{cite book| date = 1804 | title = A walk through Leicester: being a guide to strangers, containing a description of the town and its environs, with remarks upon its history and antiquities | url = https://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p15407coll6/id/8507/rec/47 | location = Leicester | publisher = T.Comb | page = 8 }}

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