Lot 2784
A Tenth Legion Floor Tile from Ancient Jerusalem. Israel, Late 1st - 2nd century AD. The tile, a paver, is fashioned from a gritty pinkish-biege clay and hard fired. A square of 7" on each side, and about 1-3/8" thick, the tile has impressed on its face a rectangular stamp with the letters "LEG X FR," for "Legio Decima Fretensis." The letters complete and clear, although the stamp was a bit weakly impressed at the center. The full tile nicely preserved. Decent examples are much more difficult to find these days. An important artifact for the Judaica or miltary collector.
Estimated Value $975 - 1,250.
Actually found in Jerusalem, the owner of this and the following two lots encountered a course of these tiles while performing some repairs and remodling to his basement. (There must be many more interesting basements scattered around the Holy City!).
Stationed in Palestine and Syria, the Tenth Legion made up the forces that Vespasian employed in northern Israel during his campaignof 66 AD. Later, the legion comprised a good portion of the troops that destroyed Jerusalem under Titus. Three years later they completed the mopping up of the First Revolt when they captured Masada. Afterwards, the Tenth Legion became the official permanent garrison for the province of Judaea. Following the Bar Kochba revolt, the legion was stationed in Jerusalem (Aelia Capitolina) itself. In the early 1990's a major Tenth Legion site was discovered during excavations for a parking lot next to the National Auditorium in Jerusalem. At that time a number of like tiles came on to the market, but these have long since been dispersed. See: N. Avigad, Discovering Jerusalem, 1980, p. 206, figs. 2, 3, and 4.
|
| |
| Realized $1,438 |
