MASADA



Some of the 2011 Holy Land
group on top of Masada



Masada ("fortress" in Hebrew) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications on top of an isolated rock plateau, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. The cliffs on the east edge of Masada are about 1,300 feet high, making it easily defensible. The top of the plateau is flat and about 1,800 feet by 900 feet. There are remains of  a casemate wall around the top of the plateau with many towers. The fortress included storehouses, barracks, an armory, the palace, and cisterns that were refilled by rainwater. Herod the Great fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BC as a refuge for himself in the event of a revolt. In 66 AD, at the beginning of the First Jewish-Roman War, a group of Jewish extremists, called the Sicarii, overcame the Roman garrison of Masada. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, additional members of the Sicarii and numerous Jewish families fled Jerusalem and settled on the mountaintop, using it as a base for harassing the Romans. In 72 AD, the notorious Roman Legion X Fretensis laid siege to Masada. The Roman's surrounded Masada and built a siege embankment against the western face of the plateau, moving thousands of tons of stones and beaten earth to do so. The rampart was complete in the spring of 73 AD, after probably two to three months of siege, allowing the Romans to finally breach the wall of the fortress with a battering ram on April 16. When Roman troops entered the fortress, they discovered that its 960 inhabitants had set all the buildings but the food storerooms ablaze and committed a mass suicide.

Date Palm grown from 2000 year
old seed found in Masada

While a hike up the Snake Path on the eastern side of the mountain is considered part of the "Masada experience," a cable car operates at the site for those who wish to avoid the physical exertion. Many of the ancient buildings have been restored from their remains, as have the wall-paintings of Herod's two main palaces, and the Roman-style bathhouses that he built. The synagogue, storehouses, and houses of the Jewish rebels have also been identified and restored. Water cisterns two-thirds of the way up the cliff drain the nearby wadis by an elaborate system of channels, which explains how the rebels managed to have enough water for such a long time In the area in front of the northern palace, eleven small ostraca (broken pieces of pottery with inscriptions) were recovered, each bearing a single name. One reads "ben Yair", the commander of the Jewish rebels. It has been suggested that the other ten names are those of the men chosen by lot to kill the others and then themselves.The remnants of a Byzantine church dating from the 5th and 6th centuries, have also been excavated on the top of Masada.The Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), Moshe Dayan, initiated the practice of holding the swearing-in ceremony of soldiers who have completed their Tironut (IDF basic training) on top of Masada. The ceremony ends with the declaration: "Masada shall not fall again." The soldiers climb the Snake Path at night and are sworn in with torches lighting the background. A 2,000-year-old seed discovered during archaeological excavations in the early 1960s has been successfully germinated to become a date plant, the oldest known such germination.

 

Map of Masada:

1. snake path gate. 2. rebel dwellings. 3. Byzantine monastic cave. 4. eastern water  cistern. 5. rebel dwellings. 6. mikvah. 7. southern gate. 8. rebel dwellings. 9. southern water cistern.10.southern fort. 11. swimming pool. 12. small palace. 13. round columbarium tower. 14. mosaic workshop. 15. small palace. 16. small palace. 17. public immersion pool.

18-21. Western Palace: 18. service area. 19. residential area. 20. storerooms. 21. administrative area. 22. tanners' tower. 23. western Byzantine gate. 24. columbarium towers. 25. synagogue. 26. Byzantine church. 27. barracks.

28-39. Northern Palace: 28. grand residence. 29. quarry. 30. commandant’s headquarters. 31. tower. 32. administration building. 33. gate. 34. storerooms. 35. bathhouse. 36. water gate.

37-39. Herod's Palace: 37. upper terrace. 38. middle terrace. 39. lower terrace. A. ostraca cache found in casemate. B. Herod's throne room. C. colorful mosaic. D. Roman breaching point. E. coin cache found. F. ostraca cache found. G. three skeletons found.