Roman Legion Camp From 2nd Century C.E. Found at Megiddo - Archaeology

Roman legion camp from 2nd century C.E.
found at Megiddo - Archaeology
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Roman legion camp from 2nd century

C.E. found at Megiddo - Archaeology
Noa Shpigel
Two years ago, it still did not seem completely real: Satellite photos
and ground-penetrating radar images marked out for archaeologists
the location of the permanent camp of the Roman legion that ruled
all of northern Israel almost 2,000 years ago. The camp, near
Kibbutz Megiddo, was discovered under a broad field used for
farming located between the archaeological site of Tel Megiddo,
where 24 layers of human settlement have been uncovered, and
the village of Otnai, which was discovered under the grounds of the
Megiddo Prison and includes one of the earliest churches ever
uncovered.
Last winters heavy rains exposed part of the camp, which housed
about 5,000 Roman soldiers, at the site known as Legio; and today
parts of the streets running through the camp can be identified, as
well as the orderly arrangement of the water pipes in the middle of
the streets and the sewerage channels on both sides of them. The
excavations also uncovered parts of the large bath house that was
part of the home of the commander of the camp, which is paved
with tiles bearing the stamp of the legion that was camped nearby.
Archaeologist Yotam Tepper, codirector of the excavation together
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Roman legion camp from 2nd century C.E. found at Megiddo - Archaeology
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with archaeologists Jonathan David and Matthew Adams, said the

findings clearly show the commanders importance and wealth.
The excavation is being carried out by the W.F. Albright Institute of
Archaeological Research with the cooperation of the Israel
Antiquities Authority, as part of the broader Jezreel Valley Regional
Project;
In the second century of the Common Era the Legio Secunda
Traiana, or Trajans Second Legion named after the emperor
himself arrived at the site, which became the Roman military
headquarters for the entire north. The legion built a permanent
camp, and 20 years later it was replaced by the Legio VI Ferrata
the Sixth Ironclad Legion, which stayed in the area for about 200
years in a camp that spread over some 150 dunams (about 37
acres), said Tepper.
As opposed to what is commonly thought, there was also a good
side to the military rule over the region: The soldiers of the Roman
legion did not only rape and loot, they also built and paved [roads],
Tepper said.
The legion had engineering and technology units that helped
develop the country, he noted. They were the masters of water and
sewerage systems. The Roman army, like the American army
today, brought new technologies with them, he said. The residents
of the village of Otnai used twisting paths that were washed away in
the winter, and the Romans arranged roads eight meters wide for
them for use throughout the year.
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This Roman exactitude can be seen clearly at the site in the water
system and the roads, says Tepper. The site was a major way
station on the road between Beit Shean and Caesarea, and the
original Megiddo junction was at its center, not far from todays
modern intersection.
There was a close relationship between Otnai and the legion camp,
and the families of Christian soldiers lived in the village, alongside
Jewish and Samaritan residents, with everyone keeping their own
traditions. The prayer hall in the village, with a mosaic floor, was
funded by one of the officers from the camp.
The camp is similar to legion camps in the western part of the
Roman Empire, which were usually built on the same model, and
previous excavations of such camps aided the archaeologists in
building their picture of where to dig. There are no other similar
camps in Israel, Tepper noted, though there is the camp of the 10th
Legion in Jerusalem, but this is buried under seven other layers of
archaeological finds from different periods.
The most important finding in this dig was to understand the camp
itself, said Tepper.
In archaeological terms, what is good about the site is that nothing
was ever built over it later, which made the excavations far simpler
and straightforward. The nearby Roman-Byzantine city was built
later on the nearby hills and not on the lower fields.
When the legion finally abandoned the camp, they did so in an
orderly fashion, which also makes this site rather exceptional. It
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means there were very few finds accidently left behind, and almost
everything was removed except for the buildings, roads and
infrastructure. But the archaeologists still found a number of small
items such as oil lamps, coins, metal tools, chiseled stone table
legs in the form of panthers, and pieces of Roman armor.
11/07/2015 03:12

Roman Legion Camp From 2nd Century C.E. Found at Megiddo - Archaeology

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Roman Legion Camp From 2nd Century C.E. Found at Megiddo - Archaeology

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Roman legion camp from 2nd century C.E.

found at Megiddo - Archaeology

Roman legion camp from 2nd century

with archaeologists Jonathan David and Matthew Adams, said the

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