Avner Ecker

Ever since the discovery of a building inscription of a vexillatio of the legio VI Ferrata near Tel Shalem,1 it was clear that the area was a locus of Roman military activity. In the following years the vicinity of the Tel yielded the inscription of a Hadrianic arch whose letter-size is surpassed only by the lettering on the Pantheon and the Arch of Titus in Rome.2 Most recently, the headquarters complex of the fort (principia), and in particular the regimental shrine (aedes or sacellum), have been uncovered (see above). Within and in front of the aedes were found three inscriptions:3 a dedicatory inscription to Caracalla on a statue base in front of the building (no. 1), and two mosaic inscriptions inside, one at the entrance to the nave (no. 2), the other at its far end (no. 3). The fills covering the building produced stamped roof-tiles bearing three different formulae. The new inscriptions prove that the building was the aedes of the Ala VII Phrygum. The earliest attestation of ...

This paper suggests that two Flavian milestones discovered below southwestern corner of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, one of which marks the first mile from Jerusalem, were in fact close to their primary contexts. Consequently, it is argued that in the first decade following the destruction of Jerusalem the Roman Army paved a road through the ruins of the former city. Thus, they exemplify that at that moment Jerusalem was no longer considered among the cities of the Empire.

Gideon Foerster's excavations at Herodium in 1968/69 yielded a simple ring, which was published only in 2018. The inscription on the ring was read as Πιλάτο(υ), i.e., 'of Pilate.' Various interpretations were offered for the inscription, all generally linking the ring directly or indirectly to Pilate. This paper shows that, apart from the problematic reading, everything we know about the Roman administration in the provinces speaks against such an assumption, especially the use of the Greek language in an administrative context in the first half of the first century. Alternative readings for the letters and other ways to understand them are discussed.

A milestone located in Bet Ḥananya, below one of the arches of the Hadrianic High Aqueduct to Caesarea (Canal B), was subjected to a 3D scan. This technique enabled the reading of the inscription on the milestone and thereby, to date the stone to the period of the dual reign of Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus (161-169 CE). It also became apparent that the stone marked the fourth mile station from Caesarea. This paper suggests that the milestone is in situ and marked a segment of the Roman imperial road between Caesarea and the legionary base at Legio. The road was submerged in the fourth century CE when a reservoir was created behind dams built across Naḥal Tanninim.

This paper suggests to locate the training ground (campus) of the legio X Fretensis in the shallow valley north of the Damascus Gate, perhaps where once the siege camp of Titus was built. Topographically it is the most level ground around Jerusalem, hence fitting for a campus. Furthermore, the area was devoid of structures between 70 CE and the 4th century, except for two monuments erected by legionary forces and dedicated to the emperors: one monument definitely dedicated to Hadrian (upon his visit) and the other either to Hadrian or less likely to Antoninus Pius. Positioning the campus in this area neatly explains why it was empty for centuries and why the cemetery of Aelia Capitolina was pushed north of the line of the "Third Wall." One must admit that the archaeological finds from Roman Jerusalem do not allow for a clear identification of the location of the camp of the legio X Fretensis. 2 One cannot even be sure if the camp had a typical "playing card" shaped plan based on the "poly-bian" model-such as those camps archaeologically known for more than a hundred years from the Roman West, 3 or if the camp melded with the city, like the military quarter of Dura Europos. 4 1 This paper was borne out of ongoing work on Aelia Capitolina together with Hannah M. Cotton-Paltiel. A preliminary discussion of the idea presented here appeared in the Hebrew proceedings of the New Studies in Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Region conference (Ecker 2018) and briefly discussed in Ecker-Cotton 2018/2019. I thank Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah for allowing me to use and reproduce some of her superb map of Aelia Capitolina.

Ever since the discovery of a building inscription of a vexillatio of the legio VI Ferrata near Tel Shalem, 1 it was clear that the area was a locus of Roman military activity. In the following years the vicinity of the Tel yielded the inscription of a Hadrianic arch whose letter-size is surpassed only by the lettering on the Pantheon and the Arch of Titus in Rome. 2 Most recently, the headquarters complex of the fort (principia), and in particular the regimen-tal shrine (aedes or sacellum), have been uncovered (see above). Within and in front of the aedes were found three inscriptions: 3 a dedicatory inscription to Caracalla on a statue base in front of the building (no. 1), and two mosaic inscriptions inside, one at the entrance to the nave (no. 2), the other at its far end (no. 3). The fills covering the building produced stamped roof-tiles bearing three different formulae. The new inscriptions prove that the building was the aedes of the Ala VII Phrygum. The earliest attestation of its presence in Syria Palaestina is inferred from a military diploma of A.D. 139 4 found at Apheka, not far from Tel Shalem. Assuming that the Ala Phrygum, attested without the number VII in the province of Syria up to A.D. 88, 5 is the same unit as the Ala VII Phrygum of our inscriptions, its transfer to Iudaea is most likely to be associated with the suppression of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. 6 The inscriptions published here provide the latest known date for its stay in Syria Palaestina, some 40 years after the latest date so far attested in military diplomas. 7

An inscribed marble gable found near the ancient city center of Ascalon (modern Ashkelon) is published. The inscription (of AD 220) records the erection and dedication of a temple in honor of the goddess “Ourania of Skorpon”. Ourania Aphrodite was a resident deity in Ascalon and this appears to be the first tangible piece of evidence confirming the ancient ties linking her to the city. The word egersitheos, revivifier of a deity, in this inscription is otherwise unattested.