Israel: Remains Of Major Imperial Roman Military Base Uncovered At Megiddo

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – In a remarkable discovery, Israeli archaeologists recently uncovered architectural remains of the prominent 1,800-year-old Imperial Roman VI ‘Ferrata’ Iron Legion military base at the site of the ancient city of Megiddo in northern Israel.

The Legio VI Ferrata (“Sixth Ironclad Legion”) became part of the Roman emperor Augustus’s standing army in 30 BC. The Legio was sent to garrison in the province of Judea, and was the permanent military base for over 5,000 Roman soldiers for more than 180 years, from 117–120 to about 300 CE. The Legion fought in the Roman Republican civil wars of the 40s and 30s BC.

The remains of Legio VI were excavated by Dr. Yotam Tepper and Barak Tzin of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Israel National News (INN) reports. The Legio VI is the only Roman base of this size to have been located and uncovered in Israel up to now.

“The unique contribution of the results of this research project lies in the rarity of such archaeological discoveries,” Tepper said in a statement. “Whilst Roman military camps are known in Israel, they are temporary siege camps, or small camps belonging to auxiliary divisions. None compares with the entire complex of the legionary base, as has been uncovered in the archaeological excavations at Legio, next to the Megiddo Junction.”

The discovered remains include a substantial section of the Via Pretoria (the base’s main road), a semicircular-shaped podium, and stone-paved areas that were part of a monumental public building, INN said.

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