Legionnaire's pay

Archaeologists of the Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA), during excavations at the fortress of Masada, in Israel, found the paycheck of a Roman legionary, written on a sheet of papyrus, dating back to 72 AD.

The fortress of Masada, in the southern district of today's Israel, was probably built by King Herod between 35 and 4 BC. It is located on a rock outcrop and was designed to withstand long sieges: it had a defensive wall with 27 towers, a system of water cisterns and warehouses for food and weapons.

During the First Judeo-Roman War, a revolt that began in Judea against imperial rule and culminated in AD 70. with the capture of Jerusalem, Masada was the last bastion of the rebels, belonging to the group of Zealots, led by Eleazar ben Ya'ir's. To counter them, the legio X Fretensis was sent, led by Lucius Flavius Silva who, after a long siege, managed to conquer the fortress thanks to an earthen ramp that reached the city ramparts. According to Flavio Giuseppe, a Jewish writer and historian who lived a few years after these events, the rebels barricaded at Masada decided to take their own lives rather than be subjected to the Roman Empire.

Due to the fascination of its history, the Masada site has been the subject of archaeological excavations for several decades, but in the latest campaign, IAA researchers found 13 papyrus rolls and one parchment. On one of these was recorded the pay of one of the Roman legionaries who participated with the X legio in the siege of the fortress. Oren Ableman, senior researcher and curator at the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit, reveals the interest of this find. In fact, it seems that the cost of some materials, such as leather boots, a linen tunic and fodder for the horse, had been deducted from the pay of the legionary. In total, the deductions almost exceed the soldier's salary, a discovery which supports the hypothesis that the official salary was not sufficient for sustenance, but that the legionaries could supplement it with other jobs carried out within the army itself or with looting after the battles.

Agnese Picco

NP Aprile 2023