Vitruvian odometer
Odómetro romano de Vitruvio
- Date
- c. 25 BCE · confidence medium
- Place
- Rome, Latium, Italy
- Credited to
- Vitruvius (describer); attributed to Archimedes
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A cart whose wheel rotation drives gears that drop a pebble into a container every Roman mile, so that at the end of the trip the pebbles are counted. Vitruvius describes it and it is the first known mechanical instrument for measuring distance travelled.
Vitruvius (De architectura X, 9) describes it around 25 BC and ascribes it to the Greek tradition; it has been said that Archimedes devised it during the Punic Wars, with no documentary support. No physical remains of the device exist.
What it led to
- measurement of roads and mileposts
- vehicle odometers (Hero and modern ones)
- a basis for Roman itinerary cartography