Masada

Our first stop of the day was Masada. Masada (Hebrew for Fortress) was the last Jewish stronghold to fall to the Romans. It is located atop a high cliff at the Western end of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada itself is at sea level, so it is clear to see just how low the Dead Sea is! After Jerusalem, Masada is the second-most visited site in Israel.

The fortress was built by Herod the Great between 37 and 31 BC. The picture above is of the excavation of Herod's palace on the site. According to Josephus Flavius in The Jewish War, Herod "furnished this as a fortress for himself." About 75 years after the death of Herod, and at the beginning of the Revolt of the Jews against the Romans, in 66 AD, a group of Jews took control of Masada. After the fall of Jerusalem, they were joined by more Jewish zealots and their families. They held out against the Romans for three years.

Masada was not a primitive outpost, having many conveniences. These are the remains of heated baths, the commandant's resident, and intricate mosaic floors.

This is an example of "in situ". We saw this throughout the excavations in the Holy Land. Everything below the black line is original, above the line has been restored.

Did you ever wonder where the term "pigeon hole" came from? This was a dovecot found at Masada. They raised pigeons and doves for food and fertilizer. The pigeons lived in these pigeon holes. This is also the origin of the term columbarium. "Columba" means dove. Cremains are placed in their own pigeon holes in the columbarium. I had no idea!

This is a beautiful view of the Dead Sea from one of the windows of Masada.

Our group of pilgrims at Masada.

Five Roman garrisons were built at the base of Masada.

The Romans ultimately breached the fortress by constructing an earthen ramp up to the top of the fortress, a feat which took three years.

The Romans used Jewish prisoners on the front lines as they advanced upon the fortress. Once the Jews realized they could not escape, and they didn't want to kill their fellow Jews, the leader, Elazar be Yair, made an impassioned speech in the synagogue:

"Since we long ago resolved never to be servants to Rome, nor to any other than God Himself, Who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice...We were the very first that revolted, and we are the last to fight against them; and I cannot but esteem it as a favor that God has granted us, that it is still in our power to die bravely, and in a state of freedom."

After his audience gave their approval, it was decided that each man would kill his own family, and set all the storerooms on fire.

Lots were then cast to determine the ten men would would kill the remainder, and then to determine who would kill the last nine and himself. When the Romans entered the fortress, only 2 women and five children were found alive. There had been 960 inhabitants. The story of Masada was told by the survivors.

After the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948, Masada came to symbolize heroism and sacrifice. Newly enlisted soldiers were taken to the site to swear their oath of allegiance, including the shout, "Masada will not fall again!"

On our visit to Masada we were stunned to see drones buzzing over the enire site. There was really nothing there to steal - just ruins in the middle of the desert. Were they intended to intimidate? We could not understand.

Next stop....Qumran!