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Courtesy Werner Eck

REST IN PEACE. The Legio X Fretensis, “Tenth Legion of the Sea Strait,” was sent to Iudaea to suppress the Jewish Revolts in the first and second centuries. After Hadrian changed the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina, some soldiers of the Tenth Legion and their auxiliary units settled in the city, their presence and contributions evidenced by Latin and Greek inscriptions they left behind. A Latin funerary inscription was found north of Jerusalem’s Old City during construction work for St. George’s College. Made of marble and dating to the third century, it reads, “To the spirits of the deceased. Lucius Magnius Felix, soldier of the Legio X Fretensis, beneficiarius of a tribune (of the legion). Served nineteen years. Lived thirty-nine (years).”¹