Antonine Itinerary

• The Antonine Itinerary was a Road Map of the Roman Empire.
• Its Latin name was ‘Antonini Itinerarium’, which meant ‘the Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161 CE)

Description

• It is a list of all the Routes of the Roman Empire naming the Stations and giving the distances between them.
• The Itinerary is named after the Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161 CE) as he is thought to have ordered its publication. However, it was probably first organised by Augustus (29 BCE-14 CE) at the beginning of the Roman Empire.
• The oldest copy dates from the period of the Emperor Diocletian (284-305 CE).
• The Itinerary includes a ‘Maritime Itinerary’, ‘Item Imperatoris Antonini Augusti Itinerarium Maritimum’ with river crossings and routes between various ports. Sea Distances were usually measured in Stadia.

Measurements

• One Roman Mile was 1,000 Roman Paces, or approximately 4,590 feet or 1430 metres (an English mile has 5,280 feet).
• One Stade was 625 feet or 1/8th of a Roman mile.

The British Section

• Known as the ‘Iter Brittaniarum’ it lists 15 of the Itineraries:
  • Iter I
    • Hadrian's Wall to Brough
  • Iter II
    • Hadrian's Wall to Richborough via Chester and Wall
  • Iter III
    • London to Dover
  • Iter IV
    • London to Lympne
  • Iter V
    • London to Carlisle
  • Iter VI
    • London to Lincoln
  • Iter VII
    • London to Chichester via Southampton and Silchester
  • Iter VIII
    • London to York
  • Iter IX
    • London to Caistor St Edmund
  • Iter X
    • Ravenglass to Whitchurch
  • Iter XI
    • Caernarfon to Chester
  • Iter XII
    • Carmarthen to Wroxeter
  • Iter XIII
    • Caerleon to Silchester via Gloucester and Newbury
  • Iter XIV
    • Caerleon to Silchester via Sea Mills and Bath
  • Iter XV
    • Silchester to Exeter