keisoku

Ancient Roman Length Converter

Convert ancient Roman length units such as pes, passus and stadium to meters and to one another, all at once.

Input

Input unit

Result

In meters (m, approx.)

1.48m

UnitSymbolConverted value
Meterm1.48
Digitusdigitus80
Pespes5
Cubituscubitus3.333333
Passuspassus1
Stadiumstadium0.008
Mille passusmille passus0.001

How it works

  • Ancient Roman units of length are built around the base unit "pes" (the Roman foot, about 0.296 m). This tool uses the pes as the anchor when converting each unit to meters.
  • The main relationships are: 1 passus = 5 pedes, 1 cubitus = 1.5 pedes, 1 digitus = 1/16 pes, and 1 mille passus (the Roman mile) = 1000 passus (= 5000 pedes).
  • The stadium is a unit derived from the length of a stadium track; here we adopt the commonly cited value of about 185 m.
  • Roman weights and measures varied by era, region and surviving evidence, so every value shown here is approximate. For rigorous historical work, please consult specialized sources.
  • Enter a value and choose a unit to see the conversion to meters along with a full cross-conversion table covering all Roman units. Handy for reading historical fiction and classical texts, or for general study.