The Long and the Short of It

Arguably the first metric unit of measurement introduced to Britain, the mile was brought in by the ancient Romans for whom it was one thousand – or mille, in Latin – full marching paces of a legionary (that is, the full swing of one leg from one ground touch to the next). When marching through uncharted territory there was always one officer delegated to keep count of the pace so he could drive into the ground a specially carved stick to mark off each mille. At the end of the day’s march, a stone marker was put in place to denote the number of miles from the starting point of the trek, and so was born the milestone.