Archaeologists discover the Iron Legion military base

The 1,800-year-old ‘Iron Legion’ Roman Legionary Base uncovered at the foot of Tel Megiddo.

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced that a recent excavation at the foot of Tel Megiddo, near the ancient village of Kfar Othnay, uncovered the architectural remains of the 1,800-year-old Roman VI ‘Ferrata’ Iron Legion military base, as reported by Аrkeonews.

It is known that the VIth Legion Roman legionary base is the only Roman military base of these dimensions that has been located and exposed in Israel. During the excavation, significant architectural remnants of the camp’s main thoroughfare, the Via Pretoria, as well as a semicircular podium and sections of stone pavement that belonged to a sizable, monumental public building, were discovered. Julius Caesar recruited this legion in Gallia Cisalpina in 52 BCE, and its first action came during the campaign against the Gallic leader Vercingetorix, who was besieged at Alesia. This legion accompanied Caesar to Alexandria. Its name means “ironclad”, which is probably a reference to the suits of armor.

As Аrkeonews notes, the excavation, directed by Dr. Yotam Tepper and Barak Tzin is part of the major infrastructure project to expand and upgrade Road 66 from the Megiddo Junction to the Hatishbi Junction at Yoqn‘eam.

The Roman Legion camp at Legio was the permanent military base for over 5,000 Roman soldiers for more than 180 years, from 117–120 to about 300 CE, says Dr. Yotam Tepper, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Dr. Yotam Tepper notes, that “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 point 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. The ancient building remains were not preserved to a height, 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, says excavation director.

In the excavation, coins, parts of weapons, pottery sherds, and glass fragments were uncovered, but the most predominant finds are the roof tiles that have been found in extremely large quantities. Some of which were stamped with the VIth Legion stamps.