Masada was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001.
Its inscription on this prestigious list epitomizes its outstanding universal significance,
which must be protected for the benefit of all humanity.
Masada was the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans.
Its fall signaled the violent destruction of the Kingdom of Judea at the end of the Second Temple period.
The tragic events of the last days of the Rebels of Masada transformed it into both a Jewish cultural icon
and a symbol of humanity's continuous struggle for freedom from oppression.
Built by Herod, King of Judea, Masada was a palatial fortress in the style of the ancient Roman East.
The camps, fortifications, and assault ramp at the base
constitute the most complete surviving ancient Roman siege system in the world.
The Plateau of Masada is located on the eastern fringe of the Judean desert near the shore of the Dead Sea
between Ingeti and Stadum.
It is a mountain block that rose and was detached from the Fault escarpment,
surrounded out of space by Wadi Ben Yair on the west and Wadi Masada on the south and east.
The Plateau, 450 meters above the level of the Dead Sea, is approximately 650 meters long and 300 meters wide.
East of the mountain is sediment left by the ancient Dead Sea, scored by numerous cracks.
Masada is close to two ancient rules.
One, cut through the center of the Judean desert and led to the southern Moab in eastern Transjordan.
The other, connected Edo, Moab, and the Aravah Valley to Ingeti and Jerusalem.
Masada's remote location and its natural defenses were the advantages that transformed it into a fortress during the Second Temple period.
According to Josephus, Masada was the last rebel stronghold in Judea.
In 73 or 74 A.D., the Roman Tenth Legion for Tensis, led by Flavio Silva, laid siege to the mountain,
the Legion consisting of 8,000 troops, among which were auxiliary forces,
built 8 camps around the base, a siege wall, and a ramp made of earth and wooden supports on a natural slope to the west.
Captive Jews brought water to the troops, apparently from Ingeti as well as food.
After a siege that lasted a few months, the Romans brought a tower with a battering ram up to the ramp which they began to batter the wall.
The rebels constructed an inner support wall out of wood and earth, which the Romans then set ablaze.
As Josephus describes it, when the hope of the rebels dwindled, Eliezer Benyeir gave two speeches in which he convinced the leaders of the 960 members of the community
that it would be better to take their own lives and the lives of their families than to live in shame and humiliation as Roman slaves.
The bridge from the upper cable car station leads to the snake path gate.
To the right, a staircase leads to an ancient cistern and from there to the upper end of the snake path.
This grand and daring building constructed by Herod is Masada's architectural gem.
It is 30 meters high, built on three rock terraces and supported by impressive retaining walls.
Combining both Hellenistic and Roman architectural elements, the palace was built to host high-ranking visitors and to allow the king his solitude.
Herod and his family lived on the upper level and the two lower levels were for receptions.
To the lower levels of the palace, we walked down some 100 stairs to the middle terrace.
We passed a Ewen cistern and a mikveh or ritual bath and reached a space which was probably a round hall constructed of two circles of pillars.
Under the rock wall are a staircase and living rooms.
To the lower terrace, descending 65 more stairs, there was a rectangular hall surrounded by pillars and decorated with frescoes.
To the east was a cellar in which a Roman-style bath house was discovered and amongst its ruins were found the skeleton of a man and the scalp of a woman with brown hair and plates.
Bath houses were an integral part of Roman culture.
Enter Masada's Roman-style bath house by the courtyard which was surrounded by colonies.
A model of the bath house located in the courtyard shows its original appearance and use.
Enter the dressing room, a podeterie with its unique paved floor and fresco adorned walls.
During the revolt, benches made out of pollen drums were installed in this room along with an immersion pool.
Hundreds of Ostraca were discovered here.
One group contained names, among them Ben-Yair, the name of the commander of the Sukkari.
Yigalia Dean connected this group of Ostraca with the lots that Josefus says were cast by the rebels on their last night.
Others say the shards are connected to the administration of the rebel community.
The Roman army included the 10th Legion with the usual auxiliaries and thousands of Jewish prisoners used as unskilled laborers.
This force set up eight camps encircling the mountain and linked by a rampart.
The fortress could be conquered only by breaching the wall and waging a direct assault.
Thus, a huge earthen ramp was built to the west of the mountain, offering easy access to the wall.
They used siege engines and protected under the cover of arrow and stones.
After seven months of siege, the Romans broke through the walls, thus sealing Masada's fate and leading the besieged Jews to take their last terrible decision.
