Recently, a paper was published in the Aram periodical, written by Chaim Ben David and Ofer Stein, focusing on the roads and milestones leading to Scythopolis.
During the Roman period, Scythopolis served as a crucial junction in the imperial Roman road network of the Province of ludaea/Palaestina. Six roads connected to the city: from the north – the roads from Tiberias and Gadara; from the east – the road from Pella; from the south – the roads from Hierico and Neapolis; and from the west – the road from Legio.
The name Scythopolis appears in 35 milestone inscriptions, a significantly higher number compared to any other place name in the provinces of Iudaea/Palaestina and Arabia. The article explores the unique phenomenon of the accumulation of such a large number of milestones bearing the name of a single caput viae in the provincial landscape – Scythopolis.
Data from the Israel Milestone Committee (IMC) files provides information on 232 milestones along the roads leading to Scythopolis, with 71 of them bearing inscriptions. Among these, 35 specifically mention Scythopolis. The article presents the data related to these six roads leading to Scythopolis.
Overall, the article provides an overview of all milestones found on the roads leading to Scythopolis and examines the capita viarum (starting point) in the provinces of Palaestina and Arabia.
Further reading:
Ben David, C. and Stein, O. All The Milestones Lead To… Scythopolis, Aram 34 (2022), pp. 1-27