Cippus

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) A small, low pillar, square or round, commonly having an inscription, used by the ancients for various purposes, as for indicating the distances of places, for a landmark, for sepulchral inscriptions, etc.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Lat. a post), a small, low column used by the ancient Romans as a mile- post, or to mark divisions of land; also a tomb-stone of small dimensions, containing a diminutive orifice or place to receive the ashes of the dead, being thus the original of the modern tomb-stone.