Masada

Masada ( , 'fortress'; ) is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BC, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising over above the surrounding terrain, east of modern Arad. The most significant remains at the site date to the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judaea under Roman administration , who transformed Masada into a fortified desert refuge early in his rule. He enclosed the summit with a casemate wall and towers, and constructed storerooms, an advanced water system, and bathhouses, along with two elaborate palaces: one on the western side and another built across three terraces on the northern cliff. These palaces remain among the finest examples of Herodian architecture. Masada is most renowned for its role during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD), when it became the final holdout of Jewish rebels following the destruction of Jerusalem. A group known as the Sicarii, a radical faction led by Eleazar ben Ya'ir, defended the site against the Roman Tenth Legion under Lucius Flavius Silva. The Romans laid siege by building a circumvallation wall and a massive ramp. According to Josephus, when the walls were breached in 73/74 AD, the Romans found nearly 1,000 inhabitants¹ had died by mass suicide—a claim that remains debated among historians.…

Masada ( , 'fortress'; ) is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BC, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising over above the surrounding terrain, east of modern Arad. The most significant remains at the site date to the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judaea under Roman administration , who transformed Masada into a fortified desert refuge early in his rule. He enclosed the summit with a casemate wall and towers, and constructed storerooms, an advanced water system, and bathhouses, along with two elaborate palaces: one on the western side and another built across three terraces on the northern cliff. These palaces remain among the finest examples of Herodian architecture. Masada is most renowned for its role during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD), when it became the final holdout of Jewish rebels following the destruction of Jerusalem. A group known as the Sicarii, a radical faction led by Eleazar ben Ya'ir, defended the site against the Roman Tenth Legion under Lucius Flavius Silva. The Romans laid siege by building a circumvallation wall and a massive ramp. According to Josephus, when the walls were breached in 73/74 AD, the Romans found nearly 1,000 inhabitants had died by mass suicide—a claim that remains debated among historians. In modern times, the story of Masada was interpreted as a symbol of heroism that became influential in early Israeli national identity. Excavations led by archaeologist Yigael Yadin in the 1960s uncovered remarkably preserved remains, including Herod's palaces, storerooms with food remnants, ritual baths, a synagogue, Jewish scrolls, columbaria, and pottery shards bearing names, one inscribed "ben Ya'ir," possibly linked to the final days of the defenders, and a small Byzantine church. The surrounding Roman siege works and bases remain visible and are among the most intact examples of Roman military engineering. Today, Masada is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to those siege works, and one of Israel's most popular tourist attractions, drawing around 750,000 visitors a year.

Geography

The cliff of Masada is, geologically speaking, a horst. As the plateau abruptly ends in cliffs steeply falling about to the east and about to the west, the natural approaches to the fortress are very difficult to navigate. The top of the mesa-like plateau is flat and rhomboid-shaped, about by . Herod built a high casemate wall around the plateau totaling in length, reinforced by many towers. The fortress contained storehouses, barracks, an armory, a palace, and a series of cisterns (capacity around ) that were refilled by rainwater – with the runoff collected from a single day's rain allegedly able to sustain over 1,000 people for 2 to 3 years. Three narrow, winding paths led from below up to fortified gates.

History

Almost all historical information about Masada comes from the first-century Jewish Roman historian Josephus. Masada is also mentioned in the Judean Desert Documents.

Hasmonean fortress

Josephus writes that the site was first fortified by Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus in the first century BC. However, so far no Hasmonean-period building remains could be identified during archaeological excavations. Josephus further writes that Herod the Great captured it in the power struggle that followed the death of his father Antipater in 43 BC. It survived the siege of the last Hasmonean king Antigonus II Mattathias, who ruled with Parthian support.

Herodian palace-fortress

(hot room) in northern Roman-style public bath (#35 on plan) According to Josephus, between 37 and 31 BC, Herod the Great built a large fortress on the plateau as a refuge for himself in the event of a revolt and erected two palaces with an endless food supply.

Chalcolithic period

An almost inaccessible cave, dubbed Yoram Cave, located on the sheer southern cliff face 100 m below the plateau, has been found to contain numerous plant remains, of which 6,000-year-old barley seeds were in such good state of preservation that their genome could be sequenced. This is the first time that this succeeded with a Chalcolithic plant genome, which is also the oldest one sequenced so far. The result helped determine that the earliest domestication of barley, dated elsewhere in the Fertile Crescent to 10,000 years ago, happened further north up the Jordan Rift Valley, namely in the Upper Jordan Valley in northern Israel. The Yoram Cave seeds were found to be fairly different from the wild variety, proof for an already advanced process of domestication, but very similar to the types of barley still cultivated in the region—an indication for remarkable constancy. Considering the difficulty in reaching the cave, whose mouth opens some 4 m above the exposed access path, the researchers have speculated that it was a place of short-term refuge for Chalcolithic people fleeing an unknown catastrophe.

Human remains

and Yisrael Yeshayahu second and third in front from right. The remains of a maximum of 28 people were unearthed at Masada, possibly 29 including a foetus. The skeletal remains of 25 individuals were found in a cave outside and below the southern wall. The remains of another two males and a female were found in the bathhouse of the Northern Palace. Of the bathhouse remains, the males were variously estimated to have been of an age of either 40 and 20–22, or 22 and 11–12, or based on dental remains, between 16–18 of age. One estimate for the female's age was 17–18 years. The skeletal remains of the males were incomplete. Only the hair, a full head of hair with braids, but no bones of the female were found. Forensic analysis showed the hair had been shaved from the woman's head with a sharp instrument while she was still alive, a practice prescribed for captured women in the Bible ( ) and the 2nd-century BC Temple Scroll. The braids indicate that she was married. Based on the evidence, anthropologist Joe Zias and forensic scientist Azriel Gorski believe the remains may have been Romans whom the rebels captured when they seized the garrison. As to the sparse remains of 24 people found in the southern cave at the base of the cliff, excavator Yigael Yadin was unsure of their ethnicity. The rabbinical establishment concluded that they were remains of the Jewish defenders, and in July 1969, they were reburied as Jews in a state ceremony. Carbon dating of textiles found with the remains in the cave indicate they are contemporaneous with the period of the revolt, and pig bones were present, occasionally occurring for Roman burials due to pig sacrifices. This indicates that the remains may belong to non-Jewish Roman soldiers or civilians who occupied the site before or after the siege. Zias questioned whether as many as 24 individuals were present, since only 4% of that number of bones was recovered.

Inaccurate description

According to Shaye Cohen, archaeology shows that Josephus' account is "incomplete and inaccurate". Josephus writes of only one palace; archaeology reveals two. His description of the northern palace contains several inaccuracies, and he gives exaggerated figures for the height of the walls and towers. Josephus' account is contradicted by the "skeletons in the cave, and the numerous separate fires".

Masada myth

The siege of Masada is often revered in modern Israel as "a symbol of Jewish heroism". Central to the Masada myth is a selectively constructed narrative based on the primary historical accounts of Josephus, wherein the Sicarii are a splinter group of the Zealots. According to Klara Palotai, "Masada became a symbol for a heroic 'last stand' for the State of Israel and played a major role for Israel in forging national identity." To Israel, the story symbolized the courage of the warriors of Masada, the strength they showed when they were able to keep hold of Masada for almost three years, and their choice of death over slavery in their struggle against an aggressive empire. Masada had become "the performance space of national heritage", the site of military ceremonies. Palotai states how Masada "developed a special 'love affair' with archeology" because the site had drawn people from all around the world to help locate the remnants of the fortress and the battle that occurred there.

In popular culture

A miniseries about the citadel was broadcast in 1981. Jewish American light welterweight champion boxer Cletus Seldin wears a jacket, on the back of which is written "Remember the Masada". Masada was a featured location during the ninth and tenth episodes of The Amazing Race Australia 1 (2011). In 2017, Jean Michel Jarre performed an electronic music concert near the fortress. Masada is the main plot location in the fourth season of Preacher. 'XK Masada' is the codename of a continuity-of-command refuge off-planet in "A Colder War". Masada is the main plot location for the novel The Dovekeepers as well as the two-part television drama of the same name. Masada is the title of a song and album dedicated to the site by Ivorian reggae singer Alpha Blondy.

History

Ben-Yehuda, Nachman. Sacrificing Truth: Archaeology and the Myth of Masada, Humanity Books, 2002.

Archeological reports

Avi-Yonah, Michael et al., Israel Exploration Journal 7, 1957, 1–160 (excavation report Masada) Yadin, Yigael. Israel Exploration Journal 15, 1965 (excavation report Masada). Netzer, E., Masada; The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963–1965. Vol III. IES Jerusalem, 1991. Roller, Duane W. The Building Program of Herod the Great, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1998. Netzer, Ehud. The Palaces of the Hasmoneans and Herod the Great. Jerusalem: Yed Ben-Zvi Press and The Israel Exploration Society, 2001. Ehud Netzer, The Rebels' Archives at Masada, Israel Exploration Journal, Vol. 54, No. 2 (2004), pp. 218–229 Bar-Nathan, R., Masada; The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963–1965, Vol VII. IES Jerusalem, 2006.* Jacobson, David, "The Northern Palace at Masada – Herod's Ship of the Desert?" Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 138,2 (2006), 99–117. Stiebel, Guy D. "Masada". Encyclopaedia Judaica. Volume 13. pp. 593–599. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Masada photos on Israeli National Park website. All the options on how to climb Masada by foot.

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