Ancient Roman Road Discovered in Israel

March 8, 2017

by: Edgar Asher

Wednesday, 08 March 2017 | It would seem that new, exciting archaeological discoveries are being made in Israel on an almost daily basis. Such is the expertise of archaeologists and scientists working with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), that the past of this small nation is being constantly revealed.

In many cases the preparation of new, or widened roads, or the construction of buildings, reveal examples of historic past construction, or it might reveal old artifacts and coins. Today the IAA announced the finding of a 2,000 year-old Roman road near Bet Shemesh. The Roman road lay near to ‘Highway 375’ to Bet Shemesh. It was discovered last month due to preparation needed to lay a new water pipeline to Jerusalem. Local students from ‘Ulpanit Amit Noga’ in nearby Bet Shemesh volunteered to take part in the dig.

The Roman road is up to six meters wide [20 ft] and continues for about 1.5 kilometers [.9 mi]. The road was intended to link the Roman settlement near Beit Natif with the main highway that connected to Jerusalem via ‘Eleutheropolis’ (Bet Guvrin).

The construction of the Emperor’s Road is thought to have taken place at the time of Emperor Hadrian’s visit to the country, about AD 130, or slightly thereafter, during the suppression of the Bar Kokhba revolt in AD 132-135. The presence of a milestone bearing the name of the emperor Hadrian, which was discovered in the past close to the road, reinforces this hypothesis.

Coins were discovered between the pavement stones: a coin from Year 2 of the Great Revolt (AD 67), a coin from the Umayyad period, a coin of the prefect of Judea Pontius Pilate, dating to AD 29 and a coin of Agrippa I from AD 41 that was minted in Jerusalem.

Up until 2,000 years ago most of the roads in the country were actually improvised trails. However during the Roman period, as a result of military and other campaigns, the national and international road network started to be developed in an unprecedented manner. The Roman government was well aware of the importance of the roads for the proper running of the empire. From the main roads, such as the ‘Emperor’s Road’, there were secondary routes that led to the settlements where all of the agricultural products were grown. The grain, oil and wine, which constituted the main dietary basis at the time, were transported along the secondary routes from the surroundings villages and then by way of the main roads to the large markets in Israel and even abroad.

After this stretch of Roman road has been thoroughly investigated, the site will be prepared for visitors.

Posted on March 8, 2017

Source: (Ashernet originally posted this article on 07 March 2017. Time related language has been modified to reflect our reposting today.)

Photo Credit: IAA/ Ashernet