Archaeologists find where Romans breached Jerusalem’s walls
IAA researchers match up location of siege with ballista stones, calculate position from where bolt throwers were fired
The positions of the Roman army’s ballistae used in their attack on Jerusalem may have been found thanks to archaeological evidence and calculations made by the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The findings came on Tisha Be’av, the Jewish fast day that mourns, among other things, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans during this invasion.
The Roman Empire was the superpower of the ancient world two millennia ago and firmly dominated the entirety of the Mediterranean Sea. Its army, too, was the powerhouse of the era, enforcing the empire’s will on its conquered and subjugated lands.
The imperial legions were vast, with a vast number of flexible tactics and formations at their disposal, along with signature innovations and weaponry, such as the ballista.
It was with this might that the Romans, in an army led by Pompey the Great, would ultimately conquer Judea in 63 BCE, ruled at the time by the Hasmonean Kingdom, — which technically preceded the birth of the empire at the tail-end of the Roman Republic.
Most, but not all, Jews accepted Roman rule, especially in Judea which, despite autonomy, was heavily beholden to Rome.
Ultimately, in 66 CE, a Jewish revolt erupted against Rome, ruled by Emperor Nero. The Roman legions, led by General Vespasian, were dispatched to quell this uprising.
The widespread revolt would last for several years, ending with the fall of Masada in 73-74 CE. But the most significant battle was the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
This began after a brief lull in the conflict, caused by Emperor Nero’s death. Vespasian returned to Rome, becoming the new emperor, while his son Titus, left in command of the legions, laid siege to Jerusalem for five months, breached the walls and destroyed the Temple. It was the end of a historical era for the Jews and the central trauma that gave birth to the day of mourning, Tisha Be’av.
Archaeological excavations over many years were able to uncover a significant quantity of Roman military equipment in the city, much of it discovered by Kfir Arbiv and fellow researcher Dr. Rina Avner in the Russian Compound near the Jerusalem Municipality.
So far, the excavated equipment consists of anything from ballista stones, sling stones, spears, arrowheads, swords and catapults.
In particular, Arbiv focused on the ballista stones. Ballistae themselves were large weapons of the ancient world that could be described as a sort of gigantic crossbow — though
the crossbow itself was a later weapon. These contraptions used springs for torsion in order to launch either heavy darts or large stones in siege warfare.
They were first utilized by the ancient Greeks as siege weapons and were later incorporated by the Romans as they continued to expand their presence and adapt their military capabilities.
Smaller forms of ballista, called scorpio, were also used with more precision.
Overall, though they were used as siege weaponry, ballistae could also be described as an early form of artillery, used to take out fortifications and target soldiers.
This lines up with the Siege of Jerusalem. Ballista stones have been found of varying weight and size, presumably launched in an effort to breach the walls and to prevent defenders from breaking cover to strike back.
With this in mind, Arbiv hit the books - and the keyboard.
Much of the battle itself was described by Josephus in his landmark work The Jewish War. With this information, Arbiv was able to match up the location of the siege with the locations of ballista stones and, then calculate the location from which they were fired.
HIS COMPLEX CALCULATIONS had to factor in everything from the location of the city walls, the angles used to launch each stone, what their ranges were and the local topography.
From here, Arbiv learned two things: Where much of the Roman artillery was located, and where the Romans probably managed to breach the city.
Regarding the location of artillery, a significant amount of ballistae seem to have been placed in Cat’s Square, located in the center of modern Jerusalem.
As for where the Romans likely breached the city, that would seem to have been today’s Russian Compound.
Excavations in the area were able to find remnants of the Third Wall, the outermost line of defense of the city. This area also had the largest amount of ballista stones, with hundreds if not thousands found in the area, seemingly directed at this specific spot.
Josephus himself seemed to have indicated as much, with his writings stating that the Romans breached the walls in the northwest.
For Arbiv, their choice of this spot is no surprise.
“Whoever controls this spot, dominates the whole area and the fate of the city,” he explained.
For Israel Antiquities Authority director Eli Eskosido, the findings significantly help to validate the records of the Siege of Jerusalem.
“The physical evidence of the huge resources employed by the Roman army in Jerusalem reflects the extremely harsh battles that eventually led to the destruction of the Second Temple,” he explained.
“Notwithstanding the internal factions and the impossible odds, a small group of Jewish defenders withstood the Romans for several months until the tragic destruction of the city. The use of up-to-date research methods reveals more and more about the fascinating history of Jerusalem.”
But there may be a lot more to discover in the area, with many weapons and machines used by the Roman legions still unaccounted for.
“We know from the historical sources that the Roman army employed massive siege rams to batter the fortification walls and siege towers that reached the height of the walls,” explained Israel Antiquities Authority Jerusalem region director Amit Reem, “but these have not yet been found in Jerusalem.”