- The Milliarium Aureum was Ancient Rome’s Golden Milestone.
- It was a Marble Column shrouded in Gilded Bronze upon which all distances from Rome were written on the outer Bronze casing. It no longer exists today.
Location
- It was located in the Forum Romanum, probably next to the Temple of Saturn, where it became a meeting point and a venue for Public Speeches.
Umbilicus Urbis Romae
- The ‘Navel of the City of Rome’ was Ancient Rome’s Kilometre Zero, located next to the Milliarium Aureum.
- It was a marble covered brick structure from which all distances to the cities in the Roman Empire were measured. Only the brick centre survives today.
Milion of Constantinople
- When Constantine I established Constantinople as the new Capital, he also built a Point Zero called the ‘Milion’.
- This was a gold covered column with all distances from Constantinople written on it. It stood at the Mese, the main street of Constantinople which was also the starting point of the Via Egnatia.
- It is still standing today and can be seen in Sultanahmet Square, Istanbul.
The Umbilicus Urbis, Rome