Six Seasons of Excavation at the Base of Legio VI Ferrata, Israel
»Six Seasons of Excavation at the Base of Legio VI Ferrata, Israel«
Matthew J. Adams | The Center for the Mediterranean World, Tucson, AZ
In 2023, the Jezreel Valley Regional Project (JVRP) conducted its sixth season of excavations at Legio, the base of the Roman VIth Ferrata Legion in Israel. The base is one component of the sprawling site of Legio-Megiddo, which includes the well-known Bronze/Iron Age tell, the first to third century CE Jewish Samaritan village of Kefar ‘Othnay, Roman Legio, Byzantine Maximianopolis, and early Islamic to Ottoman Lejjun. The legionary base was occupied from the early second to early fourth century CE. Excavations suggest an orderly exit of the legion and the systematic abandonment and dismantlement of the military infrastructure.
The 2013 Season confirmed the location of the historically attested legionary base as hypothesized by earlier scholars based on historical data and archaeological surveys. The 2015–2019 and 2023 seasons focused on the center of the base in the headquarters compound, the principia. While many features of the compound are typical of such components of permanent legionary bases around the empire, several unique features of the principia at Legio offer new avenues for research into the function of these buildings within the administrative and community life of the Roman army.
Further work has been conducted in the Legionary cemetery and the military amphitheater adjacent to the base. This presentation will summarize the work of six seasons of excavation, providing the latest results from the field.