The roman veterans' settlement at Moza c. AD 70-130

Recent excavations at the site of Moza, in the western outskirts of Jerusalem, revealed the remains of a large, planned Roman and Byzantine periods settlement. The site is identified with a settlement established by Vespasian after the Great (First) Jewish Revolt (AD 70) for 800 Roman veterans, which was later known as Colonia. The first phase of this settlement, attributed to the veterans' occupation, apparently lasted until about AD 130, and included a barracks-like insula which was divided into three nearly-identical units, a colonnaded street, and an affluent peristyle residential building. It may be concluded that the settlement was planned and built in two major stages. The insula was built in the earliest stage, shortly after AD 70, as a structure which was probably occupied by a military unit that controlled the nearby road and the local springs. The second construction stage included the colonnade street and the peristyle building, forming the civil or semi-civil sections of the settlement where the veteran community may have lived.