Footprints of History

August 15, 2007 - 7:30 AM by Stephanie

A footprint discovered in the Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) region is shedding light on the question of Roman military participation in active building and architecture of the Roman Empire period.

The footprint, apparently left by a Roman soldier’s sandal inside a wall surrounding the Hellenistic-Roman city of Sussita (Hippos), tells archeologists that Roman soldiers may have had a hand in the period’s construction.

According to this Haaretz.com story:

The discovery of the print made by a hobnailed sandal, the kind used by the Roman legions during the time when Rome ruled the region, led to the presumption that legionnaires or former legionnaires participated in the construction of walls such as the one in which the footprint was found.

“We know that urban construction projects in Israel were run by the cities themselves, and the Roman imperial system wasn’t involved,” said Professor Arthur Segal of Haifa University, who is heading the excavation where the footprint was discovered.

Prior to this finding sandal prints of Roman legionnaires had been discovered only in Hadrian’s Wall in Britain

Share with others