Milestones in Passau, Germany

(Originally published on April 2, 2009)

  • Milestone @ Museum
  • Milestone @ Centre
  • Roman road
  • City centre

Some pictures I took in Passau, former Batavis located, in the Roman province of Noricum, at the confluence of the rivers Danube and Inn, a strategic place for the defence of the empire of the Germanic tribes. Photos of the two existing milestones in the city; one is in the outer garden of Boiotro Castle, built on Roman foundations and now home to the Römer Museum; the other milestone, still in situ, is on a corner of the old town, next to the old city gate, in line with the old Roman road along the Danube (Donausüdstraße) from Vindobona, present-day Vienna, passing Batavis (Boiodoro on Antonino’s Itinerary) currently Passau, then on to Quintianis (Künzing) and Regino (Regensburg).

Milestone in the «Solar da Camoeira»

(Originally published on August 6, 2007)

  • 11 miles to Ebora

Photos of the Camoeira milestone in the headquarters of the public company «Estradas de Portugal» in Évora. The milestone was found close to «Solar da Camoeira» on the Roman road linking Évora to Beja signalling 11 miles to Évora. Photos kindly sent by Paulo Manços. Coordinates: 38.555409, -7.909823

vide route here – https://viasromanas.pt/#evora_beja

The Roman bridge of Segura

(Originally published on October 17, 2007)

The public company «Estradas de Portugal» (EP) responsible for the Portuguese road network carried out rehabilitation works on the Roman Bridge of Segura for structural reinforcement. As the bridge is not a classified monument and still used today EP took the responsibility of the works. The result was disastrous for the Roman monument because they chose to place modern cement to reinforce the pillars. This regrettable approach reveals an insensitivity and incompetence that only deserves to be censored, mainly because there are only 4 major Roman bridges left in Portugal and Segura bridge is one of them. The photos were kindly provided by Spanish researcher Juan Gil who alerted me to this situation. Coordinates: 39.817222, -6.981573

vide route here – https://viasromanas.pt/#idanha_merida

Another milestone discovered in Tomar

(Originally published on September 26, 2007 )

During renovation works taking place at Av. Norton de Matos in Tomar, two fragments of columns probably belonging to a milestone were unearthed. If this is the case, this landmark would belong to the Roman road linking Braga to Lisbon and passing in Tomar, then called Seilium. Given the proximity of the forum (at the back of the Municipal Fire Station) this milestone should thus indicate mile 94 from Lisbon, adding one more milestone to the following list:

  • Two milestones found in S. João do Couto and now in the Museu do Carmo in Lisbon; one dedicated to Tacitus, CIL II, 6197, and one to Maximian, CIL 6198;
  • Two milestones found in the Church of St. Maria dos Olivais;
  • A milestone discovered on Everard Street and buried there.

vide route here – https://viasromanas.pt/#condeixa_santarem

://viasromanas.pt/#condeixa_santarem

Roman Roads of Beja in 1938

(Originally published on May 21, 2007)

Mr. Manuel Geada kindly send me an interesting article from the newspaper “Diário do Alentejo” from 13th August 1938 with a brief description of the route linking Évora to Beja. The other route also mentioned linking Beja to the Algarve in fact doesn’t exist and is just a misinterpretation of Anthony’s Itinerary (Via XXI). See article here.

vide route here – https://viasromanas.pt/#evora_beja

Milestone in the cemetery of S. Mamede de Infesta

(Originally published on April 13, 2007)

Emil Hübner identified a milestone dedicated to Emperor Hadrian found at Quinta do Dourado (or Quinta de Santo António, in Rua da Igreja Velha) which was later destroyed according to Martins Capela; however, this milestone could be now reused as the base of a cross in S. Mamede de Infesta cemetery (Porto); This milestone corresponds to the 31st mile of route XVI from Braga (Bracara Augusta) to Lisbon (Olisipo). Thanks to Alexandre Lima for sending the picture. Coordinates: 41.192346, -8.608485

vide route here – http://viasromanas.pt/#braga_lisboa

Roman Bridge of Negrelos rehabilitated

(Originally published on April 13, 2007)

The Roman Bridge of Negrelos over the Vizela River, linking the villages of Moreira de Cónegos and São Martinho do Campo is one of most important Roman vestige of the region. Despite being classified as a National Monument the bridge was in a pre-ruin situation (see photo) before its recent rehabilitation. What we see now is the result of several reconstructions over the centuries but there are still many signs of the original Roman bridge, as the overall structure with several arches and a flat pavement. Many materials were also reuse, namely several cushioned ashlars with the typical hole attesting the use of machinery in its construction. This bridge integrated a secondary route linking Guimarães to Porto. Coordinates: 41.366525, -8.355018

vide route here – https://viasromanas.pt/#via_vimaranes