Roman Factory in the Heart of the Nation
Binyenei HaUma (“The Nation’s Buildings''), or The International Convention Center, is a center for congresses, conferences and fairs located in Giv’at Ram in Jerusalem. The center was designed by the architect Zeev Rechter and built between 1950-1963. The construction lasted a long time due to financing difficulties of the State of Israel in the 1950s. However, the center was inaugurated in 1951 at the conference of the 23rd Zionist Congress, even when the building was unfinished and had only one floor.
During works to expand the congress center in the early 1990s, a pottery workshop of the tenth Roman legion was discovered. Among the findings were furnaces, roof tiles, clay pipes, bricks, and more, many of them stamped with the name of the legion in various forms and its symbol - the wild boar. Some of the findings can be seen in a small museum located inside the congress center.
The 10th legion, Legio X Fretensis or LXF for short, was a Roman legion established by Octavian, later the first Roman emperor Augustus, in 41 BC during the Roman Civil War. With the annexation of Judea to the Roman Empire in 6 AD, the 10th Legion was sent to assist in its conquest and organization as a province. The legion took part in many crucial events in the history of the people of Israel. It was part of the Roman army that besieged Jerusalem in the year 70 AD, during which it was camped on the Mount of Olives. At the end of the difficult siege that lasted for 5 months, the Romans stormed the city, captured it and burned down the Temple. Then, under the command of Flavius Silva, the 10th legion besieged Masada, the last rebel stronghold, in the year 72. After constructing a formidable rampart that still exists today, the Romans managed to break into the steep fortress in the year 73, only to find out that its zealous defenders had all committed suicide. Between the years 132-136 AD, the legion fought against the Bar Kokhba Rebellion and participated in its brutal suppression, and its commander even won several honorary decorations from the Emperor Hadrian.The 10th legion, Legio X Fretensis or LXF for short, was a Roman legion established by Octavian, later the first Roman emperor Augustus, in 41 BC during the Roman Civil War. With the annexation of Judea to the Roman Empire in 6 AD, the 10th Legion was sent to assist in its conquest and organization as a province. The legion took part in many crucial events in the history of the people of Israel. It was part of the Roman army that besieged Jerusalem in the year 70 AD, during which it was camped on the Mount of Olives. At the end of the difficult siege that lasted for 5 months, the Romans stormed the city, captured it and burned down the Temple. Then, under the command of Flavius Silva, the 10th legion besieged Masada, the last rebel stronghold, in the year 72. After constructing a formidable rampart that still exists today, the Romans managed to break into the steep fortress in the year 73, only to find out that its zealous defenders had all committed suicide. Between the years 132-136 AD, the legion fought against the Bar Kokhba Rebellion and participated in its brutal suppression, and its commander even won several honorary decorations from the Emperor Hadrian.
The 10th Legion left behind additional remains in Jerusalem and throughout Israel, such as a pillar with an inscription from the 3rd century located near the Imperial Hotel next to the Jaffa gate in the old city, a theater built next to Wilson’s Arch at the Western Wall, many inscriptions, pottery and stamped tiles.
(Anecdote authored by: עמיר)
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עִבְרִית