Deus Artefacta: Discovery and Recovery of the Roman Mile Marker Mt. Nebo


Dr. Graves sitting on the Roman Mile Marker discovered on the Roman road between Eubus and Livias

Roman Road below Mt. Nebo, Jordan (discovered 2010, recovered 2011).

The day before yesterday I drove up the Roman road leading to Livias from Esebus (Esebon, Esbous also Hesebon, Heshbon), to measure the road and document it by GPS (see map). On the way up the wadi, the road became so bad that our 4-wheel drive could not make the hill so we parked our Toyota half ton and began to walk. We ended up walking over 4 KM all steeply uphill. Along the way we identified another Roman Mile marker. There was no inscription on it but its location proves that we are on the Roman road. Many of the Roman Mile Markers were removed and displayed at the Mt. Nebo Museum and mentions the city of Livias and Esebus. This became one of the several clues that let us to identify Tall el-Hammam with Livias.

Walking the Roman road past the Mile Marker

Close up of the Roman Mile Marker as
we found it next to the Roman road leading to Livias.

Three milestone referents provide distances to the city of Livias. Livias is five Rm (7.5 km) S of Tall Nimrin (Eusebius On. 44; see also Jerome 45). A second directional reference is found in Theodosius where he states that “the city of Livias is across the Jordan, twelve miles [Rm, 17.75 km] from Jericho’ to the E (Topografia 19 [Wilkinson]). The third and most important reference is the VIth milestone (milliaire) on the Esbus/Livias road placing Livias twelve Rm (17.7 km) W of Esbus (Tall Hesban; Eusebius On. 12; 18; 48; 136). Several milestones (II, IV, VI, VII) have been located along the via publica from Esbus (S. D. Waterhouse,and R. Ibach. “Heshbon 1973: The topographical survey.” Andrews University Seminary Studies 13 [1975]: 218-28; see also Henry Baker Tristram, The Land of Moab Travels and Discoveries on the East Side of the Dead Sea and the Jordan [2nd ed. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press LLC, 1874], 346). A fifth milestone was located at the VIII mile during the 2010 survey by Graves (Photo). The road between Livias and Esbus (Essebōn) was used by pilgrims traveling from Jerusalem via Jericho (Rollin and Streetly 2001, 172) and the Jordan River (‘twenty milestones away from the Jordan,’ Eusebius On. 84 [Freeman-Greenville]) to reach Mt. Nebo, the sanctuary of Moses (Eusebius On. 16; Eg. 10.8-9). The VIth mile marker was the point where one could either climb to the top of Mt. Nebo or turn N to visit the Ayûn Mûsâ [Springs of Moses] (Eusebius On. 136). The Mount Nebo Interpretation Display reads: ‘The Sixth Mile, near the Roman fortress of al-Mahattah, at Sarabit [milestone] half way between Esbus [Hesban] and Livias.’ This mile marker indicates that the Roman road was approximately twelve Roman miles from Esbus to Livias. During the January 2010 season GPS coordinates were collected for the first time for the path of the Roman road from Esbus to Tall el-Hammam and Tall er-Rameh. The Roman road measures 14.1 Rm (20.98 km) to the Roman building at Tall el-Hammam and 15.3 Rm (22.6 km) to Tall er-Ramah. Recognizing that the tall at Hammam is over a kilometer long and the Roman building is in the centre of the site, one could expect the gate to the city to be some distance from the Roman building and indicate that the Roman road would be even shorter than the 14.1 Roman miles. From the GPS of the Roman road, it is clear that the distance to Tall el-Hammam from Esbus is closer to the 12 Roman miles than Tall er-Rameh and indicates that the area around Tall el-Hammam is a better candidate for ancient Livias based on the Roman mile markers. Since I don't know where the city gate is situated for Livias and I measured to the Roman building, the measurement could easily have been less and closer to the 12 Roman miles indicated by the Roman mile markers. At any rate Tall er-Rameh, the other candidate, is 15.3 Roman miles from Esbus so it is definitely not a candidate for Livias. When the three measurements are triangulated the intersecting path falls over Tall el-Hammam. Add to this the GPS measurement and we can now say scientifically that we have discovered Livias. For the first time Livias is being excavated. This picture is the Roman road as we walked it to take the GPS co-ordinates. This is the Roman mile marker that still exists on the Roman Road. Four other Roman milestones were relocated to the Mt Nebo Museum.

Wadi below Mt. Nebo with Jordan Valley in background.

We stopped at a Bedouin's tent and asked how to drive down the Road as he was clearly using it. He said go to Alaresh near Tall Hesban and then find the yellow house. Once we found the house it was easy to drive down the road but we headed down the dirt road instead of following the paved road which we later learned was the road that leads to the Bedouin's tent. I will try later this week to GPS the actual route. The Department of Antiquities would like to move it to a museum if possible.

Today (2011) I walked the Roman Road again and drove up to pickup the Roman Mile Marker. We drove 3km or so up the Roman Road toward Hesban with the front end loader and picked up two pieces of the Roman Mile Marker requested by the DOA.

Picking up the Roman mile Marker for the DOA

We returned to the Mosque at the foot of Tall el-Hammam, where it will be determined where it will finally be displayed.

Deposited at the base of Tall el-Hammam (Livias)

To date (2022) the mile marker is still there at the base of Tall el-Hammam where we excavated for some 15 seasons (2005-2020). Covid has prevented us from returning the last few years.

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For more information on the Roman Road and Livias see: