MEGIDDO, ISRAEL—Further evidence of a major 2nd to 3rd century Roman military encampment has been uncovered at the site of Legio, near Tel Megiddo in northern Israel, according to a report from Haaretz. The camp was the base of the Sixth Legion, which helped secure Rome’s hold over the area and was likely involved in putting down Jewish uprisings, such as the Bar Kokhba Revolt from A.D. 132 to 135. This year, a monumental gate to the camp’s headquarters along with a stone mark and dedicatory inscription were discovered. The inscription is badly damaged, said Yotam Tepper of Haifa University, and is undergoing investigation. It may have marked the headquarters’ construction, listed the names of camp commanders, or celebrated heroes of the Sixth Legion. Also found, in the camp’s latrines, were more than 200 Roman coins dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries. And, a Roman cooking pot containing the cremated remains of a person, possibly a soldier, was uncovered in a manmade cave. To read more about the Roman presence in Israel, go to “Front Row Seats.”
