MASADA		Quality of Remains
		Ease of Access
		Atmosphere & Setting

History & Occupation:

The currently visible remains at Masada date from the period 37 to 31 BC when Herod the Great fortified an already existing site as a refuge for himself. Herod's constructions follow a very Romanised style and, apart from additions such as ritual baths, it is hard to differentiate between the works of Herod and later Roman works on the site. Certainly Masada was the home to a small Roman garrison by the time of the revolt of the zealots under Elazar ben Ya'ir in 66 AD. During the revolt, the zealots took Masada, killing the Roman garrison and using the fortress as a base of operations for their campaign. Their numbers gradually increased as people joined their cause, including many in 70 AD after the destruction of Jerusalem. Then, in 72 AD, the Romans finally decided to deal with the rebel fortress and Flavius Silva, the governor of the province, led the 10th Legion Fretensis against Masada. The site was accessible only by a narrow and tortuous route known as the snake path and the legion tried for weeks to assail the fortress with no success. In the end, SIlva ordered a great defensive work and the whole mountain was surrounded by a wall and ditch, with regularly placed camps to house the legion. Once complete, the legion began work on a great seige ramp on the western face of the mountain, close to Silva's headquarters. This ramp, made of compacted stone and earth was likely built by Jewish slaves under the watchful eye of the 10th Legion, since there are no records of any attempts by the zealot defenders to prevent the construction of the ramp. Once this was complete, nothing prevented the Roman attackers from beseiging the walls. A battering ram was hauled up to the fortress walls and, though there were small problems, in general the Legion made short work of the defences. On april 16th 73 AD, Silva and the 10th finally entered Masada to find that the zealot defenders, numbering around a thousand, had committed mass suicide rather than be taken by their Roman opponents. They had also set the buildings on fire but had left the stores intact to show the Romans that it was not lack of supplies that drove them to this end. In fact, two women and five children survived the mass suicide by hiding in a cistern and it was they who related the whole tale to Flavius Josephus, who wrote the account of the seige. After this most famous event, the fortress continued to play host to a Roman garrison for the rest of the period before falling into ruin.

Remains and Visit:

Most of Masada's actual buildings are very ruinous, though many have been reconstructed and a black line around the buildings shows the height the walls reached prior to reconstruction. Some buildings still retain their mosaics and painted wall plaster. In all, the remains at Masada are extensive and interesting, but the great joy of the site lies in its surroundings. Its position on an almost impregnable plateau with only a tiny path up (though visitors these days travel by cable car) surrounded by mountains, salt plains and the dead sea is truly a marvel. Add to this the circumvallation of the Roman seige system and the many camps that can be seen from the summit and it is easy to see why Masada was chosen for such a fortress. Moreover it is a testament to the ingenuity, tenacity and sheer bloody-mindedness of the Romans. Masada is one of the world's most impressive sights.

Images:

Seige fort	Siege works	Silva's HQ fort	Siege ramp	Column in northern palace
Mosaic in western palace	Byzantine church	Mosaic in Byzantine church	Bath house hypocaust	Bath house painting
Store rooms	Houses of the zealots	Aerial view (c/o Google Earth)