Hadrian's second forum was located on the western side of the city, in the area today occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It was entered by passing through a free-standing, triple-arched gate, which marked the passage from the main cardo to the northeast corner of the forum. Two buildings were erected on the northern side of the forum: a basilica (on the east) and a temple (on the west). The basilica — a multifunctional public hall — was arranged with the long axis of the building running east-west, so the long side faced the forum (an arrangement typical of Roman basilicas). A staircase on the eastern facade provided access to the basilica from the direction of the main cardo. The temple was located to the west of the basilica. It probably was dedicated to Aphrodite/Venus (the Greek and Roman goddess of love), or, less likely, to Capitoline Jupiter (ancient literary sources are unclear on this point). According to Christian tradition, this temple was built over the spot where Jesus was crucified and buried. Two centuries after Hadrian's time, Constantine demolished it to expose Jesus' tomb, which he enshrined in the Rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (see Chapter 15).
Today the remains on the northeastern side of the forum, including columns lining the original cardo, the triple-arched gate, the staircase and fafade of the basilica, and the forum's stone pavement are preserved in the Russian Alexander Hospice. This building, which belongs to the White (prerevolutionary Tsarist) Russian Church, was constructed in the late nineteenth century (a period when the various colonial powers were grabbing pieces of land from the weakening Ottoman rulers). The ancient remains were discovered during the course of construction and originally caused quite a stir, as it was thought they were associated with the Second Wall of the Herodian period (see Chapter 7). Specifically, the south wall of the basilica was identified as the line of the Second Wall because it is built of Herodian-style stones (which actually are in secondary use, typical of Hadrianic construction in Jerusalem). If these remains belonged to the Second Wall, it would have proved that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (which is located to the west) was outside the city walls at the time of Jesus. This is important because according to the Gospel accounts, Jesus was crucified and buried outside the city walls, but the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was not built until 300 years after his death. In addition, a stone threshold adjoining the south wall of the basilica at first was identified as the gate through which Jesus was taken to be crucified. A huge image of Jesus on the cross is still displayed on top of the threshold. Nevertheless, scholars agree that these remains did not exist in the late Second Temple period but instead are part of Hadrian's western forum.
The Camp and Kiln Works of the Tenth Legion
Ancient sources inform us that after 70 C. E., the Tenth Legion camped at the northwest corner of the western hill, in the area of the modern Citadel and Jaffa Gate. The camp was located by the only tower remaining of the three towers that Herod built to protect his palace (see Chapter 7). Titus razed the other two towers after the siege of Jerusalem ended. Indeed, terra-cotta roof tiles and pipes stamped with the name and symbols of the Tenth Legion have been discovered in excavations in the Citadel and the Armenian Garden to the south (the area of Herod's palace). However, these remains are scattered and are not associated with the remains of barrack buildings, which is surprising considering that the legion was stationed permanently in Jerusalem for more than two centuries, before being transferred to Aila around 300 C. E.
More substantial remains associated with the Tenth Legion, including a Roman-style bath house (with hypocaust and latrine) and hundreds of stamped legionary roof and floor tiles have been discovered in Israeli excavations southwest of the Temple Mount. These finds — some of which are coming to light in ongoing excavations — suggest that the Tenth Legion was stationed in temporary barracks in the area of the Citadel for a relatively short period (perhaps between 70 and 135?), before establishing a more substantial, permanent camp southwest of the Temple Mount (discussed later).
The kiln works of the Tenth Legion have been excavated to the west of the city (in an area called Giv'at Ram), close to Jerusalem's central bus station and convention center (Binyanei Ha'uma). Terra-cotta roof and floor tiles and pipes stamped with the name and symbols of the Tenth Legion were manufactured in the kiln works for use in legionary buildings, such as barracks and bath houses. The kiln works at Binyanei Ha'uma also produced pottery that is distinctively Roman in type and alien to the native Palestinian tradition (analyses demonstrate that the clay is local, indicating that the vessels are not imports). Roman legions typically manufactured their own stamped terra-cotta tiles and pipes, but they rarely produced their own pottery. Instead, legions would import some vessels and purchase the rest from local potters. However, Jerusalem's remote location (relative to the major Roman pottery production centers in the western Mediterranean) made it too costly to import pottery, and the native potters lacked experience in manufacturing Roman types. Therefore, the Tenth Legion in Jerusalem commissioned military potters to produce the vessels they needed.
The pottery produced in Jerusalem's legionary kiln works consists of fine table wares and cooking vessels. The soldiers used these vessels to prepare and serve Roman types of cuisine such as frittatas (which were cooked in shallow pans over a fire), and to offer guests wine at symposia (drinking parties). The table wares include fine red-slipped dishes in the tradition of Western Terra Sigillata, and unslipped, eggshell-thin cups and beakers covered with delicate relief designs. Many of the table wares are decorated in relief with Roman deities such as Dionysos (Bacchus), the god of wine — the first time figured images such as this are depicted on pottery made in Jerusalem. Dionysos and symbols associated with his cult (such as grapes and grapevines) were appropriate motifs for decorating vessels used for serving and drinking wine. After the legionary kiln works ceased pottery production around 200 C. E., local potters began manufacturing types that imitated the Roman wares, but usually without the figured decoration. The legionary kiln works had a long-lasting impact on the local pottery of Jerusalem, as imitation Roman wares continued to be produced for centuries.
The Cardos
Aelia Capitolina — corresponding with the roughly square area enclosed within the walls of the Old City today — is visible at the core of the Madaba map's depiction of Jerusalem, with the later (Byzantine period) expansion of the city to the south. The two cardos are prominently represented bisecting the city, with the main cardo terminating at Mount Zion (the southern end of the western hill). Because Jerusalem has not experienced another catastrophic destruction and renewal since Hadrian's time, scholars long assumed that the area of the modern Old City corresponds with Aelia Capitolina, as seen in the Madaba map. However, it was not until the 1970s that archaeologists had an opportunity to excavate the main cardo, which is located in the middle of the densely occupied Old City. This opportunity arose when Nahman Avigad was invited to conduct excavations on the western hill as part of Israel's reconstruction of the Jewish Quarter. Avigad discovered important remains from various periods around the Jewish Quarter, including the Herodian mansions (Chapter 7) and the “broad wall" (Chapter 2).
Avigad also excavated beneath the modern street that follows the line of Aelia Capitolina's main cardo. Some distance below the modern street, Avigad discovered a broad, stone-paved street, with columns lining the curbs of the sidewalks, corresponding with the depiction of the main cardo in the Madaba map. However, Avigad was surprised to find coins and pottery dating to the sixth century C. E. in the fills sealed by the stone pavement of the ancient street. There are no signs of an earlier street dating to Hadrian's time below this. Avigad concluded that the street he found represents a sixth century C. E. extension of the Hadrianic cardo to the south of the intersection with the main decumanus. In other words, according to Avigad, Aelia Capitolina occupied only the northern half of the modern Old City, with the area to the south uninhabited in Hadrian's time. Avigad noted that the concentration of legionary inscriptions in the northern half of the Old City supports this picture. This means that Hadrian's city was laid out not as a square but as a narrow elongated strip, with a truncated main cardo and second main cardo terminating at the intersection with the main decumanus (instead of intersecting in the middle of the city). Avigad proposed that only in the Byzantine period did the settlement spread to the south, at which time the main cardo was extended.
13.9 Remains of Jerusalem's main cardo. Courtesy of Todd Bolen/BiblePlaces. com.
Avigad's discovery caused scholars to reconsider previous assumptions about Aelia Capitolina's layout. I have suggested that perhaps the fortification wall to the north of the Old City, which Israeli archaeologists identify as the Third Wall, is the north wall of Hadrianic Jerusalem (it is not clear whether this wall was built in the first century C. E. as the Third Wall and reused by Hadrian, or was newly established by Hadrian). This means that the triple-arched gate and oval plaza at Damascus Gate were located in the middle of Aelia Capitolina rather than at the northern end, and the Transverse Valley (with the “main decumanus”) marked the southern end of the city. Although other evidence seems to support my suggestion (such as the presence of a Hadrianic triplearched gate on the line of the Third Wall and a concentration of Roman burials north of this line), one problem is that few remains dating to the time of Aelia Capitolina have been found in the area between the north wall of the Old City and the Third Wall. Even if I am correct, by ca. 300 C. E. the line of the Third Wall was abandoned in favor of the current northern line of the Old City, when a fortification wall was built which incorporated Hadrian's triple-arched gate at the site of the Damascus Gate.
Within the last decade, Israeli excavations west of the Temple Mount (by the Western Wall) have brought to light remains of the original second main cardo in the Tyropoeon Valley (see also the Sidebar on Wilson's Arch in Chapter 7). Like the main cardo, the second main cardo was a broad paved thoroughfare with columns lining the curbs of sidewalks, although the paving stones are laid differently. However, unlike the parts of the main cardo excavated by Avigad, pottery and coins date the establishment of the second main cardo to the time of Hadrian. In addition, the area to the west and southwest of the Temple Mount has yielded a greater concentration of legionary remains (including pottery and stamped tiles) than anywhere else in the Old City, including the Citadel. These finds suggest that from Hadrian's time or even earlier, this area was a center of legionary activity, and perhaps even the site of the Tenth Legion's camp. Future excavations and new discoveries undoubtedly will continue to revolutionize our understanding of Aelia Capitolina.
World History
