A full, permanent military base used by Roman legionnaires almost 2,000 years ago is on a larger scale than what was previously understood, spreading over both sides of Route 66 at the foot of Tel Meggido in northern Israel, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced Wednesday. It is the only Roman legionnaires’ permanent base camp discovered in Israel.
The 1,800-year-old site, which has been the subject of several seasons of excavations, is now known to be “a huge, complete camp. It’s not something you find every day, it’s very rare and important,” Dr. Yotam Tepper, lead archaeologist, explained to The Times of Israel.
The most recent season of exploratory digging, undertaken in conjunction with an expansion of Route 66, uncovered “extensive and impressive architectural remains of the Via Pretoria (the main road of the camp)… as well as a semicircular-shaped podium and stone-paved areas which were part of a large, monumental public building,” the IAA said in a press release.
The permanent military base housed over 5,000 soldiers of the Roman Legio VI Ferrata, known as the “Sixth Ironclad Legion,” for over 180 years, from 117–120 to around 300 CE, the IAA said. The Sixth Legion had a storied, centuries-long history in Roman annals, and fought against Judean/Jewish forces during both the Jewish War (66-73 CE) and the Bar Kochba revolt (135-136 CE).
A survey of the camp area using GPR (ground-penetrating radar) showed that most of the Roman base and all its components lie underneath the wheat fields of Kibbutz Megiddo. The ancient buildings recently uncovered were not preserved completely, “as most of the building stones were removed over the years for reuse in building projects carried out during the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods,” the IAA said.
The excavation uncovered “coins, parts of weapons, pottery sherds and glass fragments,” as well as “extremely large quantities” of roof tiles. “The roof tiles, some of which were stamped with the VIth Legion stamps, were used for various purposes, for roofing buildings, paving floors and coating walls. The technology and know-how, the building techniques, and the weapons that the Legion brought with it from the home country, are unique to the Roman army, reflecting specific Roman Imperial military footprints,” Tepper said in the IAA press release.
A rooftile found at a former Roman Legion base, at the foot of Tel Megiddo, in an undated photo. (Emil Aladjem, Israel Antiquities Authority)
“While Roman military camps are known in Israel, they are temporary siege camps, or small camps belonging to auxiliary divisions. None compares with the entire complex of the legionary base, as has been uncovered in the archaeological excavations at Legio, next to the Megiddo Junction. Historical sources and some partial information point to the existence of a permanent Roman legionary base of the Xth Fratensis Legion in Jerusalem, but the camp remains to be discovered,” he added.
The recent discoveries were partly overseen by Netivei Israel, the government-owned corporation responsible for national transportation infrastructure projects, which is conducting the expansion of Route 66 in the area.
The archaeologists are to now prepare a report on the latest findings, and then “we’ll see about the next phase,” Tepper said. The current plans for the expansion of Route 66, before the latest findings, “will go over the legionnaires’ site,” he said, so a discussion will now ensue between the relevant bodies on how to best proceed with the roadwork while preserving the archaeological findings.
One of the possibilities under discussion is an expansion of the Meggido National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to include sections of the Roman legionnaires’ base, he noted.
“The proximity of the Roman legionary base to the National Park of Megiddo, recognized as a World Heritage Site, and also to one of the earliest Christian prayer halls known in the world, discovered by the IAA within the Megiddo Prison compound, provide the potential to enhance the tourist experience at this central location at the gateway into the Galilee,” IAA director Eli Escusido said, adding that the authorities would “evaluate the conservation of the site and the future of the planned Route 66.”
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February 14, 2024 at 07:23PM
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Buildings, roads in ‘huge, complete’ Roman-era military base revealed by excavations - The Times of Israel
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