The Temple Mount Excavations in Jerusalem 1968–1978 Directed by Benjamin Mazar, Final Reports Volume IV: The Tenth Legion in Aelia Capitolina
Building remains and many finds dating from the second and third centuries CE were revealed during the excavations at the foot of the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount enclosure, conducted in 1968–1978 under the directorship of Prof. Benjamin Mazar. These finds furnish good reason to suppose that on the foundation of Aelia Capitolina in the second century CE, the camp of the Tenth Legion was moved from its original location on the Western Hill to the Temple Mount enclosure and the area at the foot of its southwestern corner. This volume presents buildings revealed in the excavations that were apparently major structures of the Tenth Legion’s camp, such as a large military-style bathhouse and a bakery. Other finds attesting to the presence of the legion include a bread stamp, inscriptions, gemstones, marble statuary, metal finds, and above all more than 240 stamp impressions of the Tenth Legion, some found in situ on broken bricks of the ovens in the bakery or on complete bricks in the floor of the bathhouse. The volume also presents the rich pottery assemblages found in the various buildings.