Architectural remains of the 1,800-year-old base of the Roman Iron Legion were uncovered in a recent excavation carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority at the foot of Tel Megiddo, near the ancient village of Kfar Othnay (Capercotnai).
The excavation, directed by Dr. Yotam Tepper and Barak Tzin, and funded by the Netivei Israel National Infrastructure Company, is part of the major infrastructure project to expand and upgrade a stretch of Route 66 from Megiddo Junction to the Hatishbi Junction at Yoqn‘eam. The remains of the Via Pretoria (the main road of the Roman base) were uncovered, as well as a semicircular podium and stone-paved areas which were part of a large, monumental public building, were discovered in the course of the excavation. The VIth Imperial Legion base is the only Roman military base of these dimensions that has been discovered and exposed in Israel.
“The camp was the permanent military base for more than 5,000 Roman soldiers for more than 180 years, from 117–120 to about 300 CE,” says Dr. Tepper. “Two main roads intersected at the center of the 550 m long and 350 m wide camp, and its headquarters were erected here.”
“It was from this base that all the distances along the Roman Imperial roads to the main cities in the north of the country were measured and marked with milestones,” explains Dr. Tepper. “The ancient building remains were not preserved at their original height, since most of the building blocks have been removed over the years for reuse in construction projects carried out during the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods.”
Dr. Tepper emphasized that the discovery of the legionary base was not accidental. Over the past decade, surveys and six seasons of archaeological excavations have been carried out in a joint academic geographical-historical research project directed by Dr. Tepper and Dr. Matthew J. Adams, as part of the Jezreel Valley Research Project (JVRP), carried out on behalf of the Albright Institute of Archaeology in Jerusalem.
“In the course of the excavation seasons, the upper part of the commanders’ courtyard (Principia) was exposed southwest of Route 66, and in the present excavation, carried out on behalf of the IAA, we are uncovering the northeastern part of the camp that extends alongside Route 66.”
Preliminary surveys of the camp area, using penetrating radar equipment, indicated that the entire Roman base and all its components lie under the wheat fields of Kibbutz Megiddo.
“The unique contribution of this research project lies in the rarity of such archaeological discoveries,” says Dr. Tepper. “While Roman military camps are known in Israel, they were mostly temporary siege camps, or small camps belonging to auxiliary divisions. None compares with the entire complex of this legionary base next to 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 has not yet been discovered.”
Coins, parts of weapons, pottery sherds, and glass fragments were uncovered, but the predominant finds are the roof tiles that have been found in extremely large quantities in the excavation.
“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,” says Dr. Tepper.
