Masada is an ancient stone fortress in Israel. It is located on a high, rocky table above the Dead Sea. Masada is now an Israeli National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is an 840-acre complex with ruins that testify to the history of the ancient kingdom of Israel and the courage of its people in the face of the Roman siege.
Masada is located about 1,300 feet (400 m) above the Dead Sea, between Ain and Sodom, on the border of the Judean desert in Israel. It is located on rocks made of layers of lime, dolomite, and malt. Due to the desert climate, the surrounding area is uninhabited and undeveloped.
Masada in Hebrew means “strong foundation or support.” This is a natural fortress built on a barren mountainous desert plateau thousands of feet above the Dead Sea. Herod the Great, King of Judah (37 to 4 BC) originally built the Masada in the first century BCE In the last century. When the ancient Romans conquered Judea in the first century AD, the land became a stronghold of the Jewish people.
His accounts have been greatly aided by the excavation of this place in the future of the AD. According to Flavius, the first fortress of Masada was built by “Jonathan the High Priest.” It was Alexander the Great, the Hasmonean king (103 to 76 BC), and no definite ruins have been found since.
Recognizing the security forces of Masada, Herod built the palace as a winter solstice escape from the enemy, consisting of a palace, storage rooms, a well, and walls with pre-barriers.
After the death of Herod and the capture of the army, the Romans built a fort at Masada. When the great Jewish rebellion against the Romans broke out in 66 AD, a group of Jewish men called Sikari, led by Manohar, captured the Masada complex.
In 1966, the site was declared a National Park by the Israeli Nature and Park Authority. It was built in 1977 by a mountain cable car. Masada has long been a favorite place of worship for Jewish youth groups. Today the fort can be reached through two entrances to the east and west. Many tourists visit the eastern entrance of the 18-acre site where many archeological ruins are found. The high and remarkably well-preserved architectural ruins in the park include the following:
- 1. A 29-room storage room complex where food and weapons were stored for the Masada residents
- 2. Herod built a high palace on the northern border, with several rooms, a central hall, and a semi-circular terrace with a spectacular view of the desert valley and the Dead Sea below, which hung on the border on three rocks.
- 3. A western palace with several rooms around a courtyard with a water pipe
- 4. Habitats from the Great Rebellion
- 5. Roman baths and sinks decorated with murals, as well as a large sink and swimming pool built by Herod
- 6. A complex water system that carries water from a gate to a well that can hold more than 40,000 cubic meters of water (the flow collected in a single day of rain is said to be able to hold more than 1000 people for 2 or 3 years).
- 7.A synagogue built in the time of Herod, documents, and papyrus written during the Rebellion, and a well-preserved woman’s hair were found.
- 8. A Byzantine church, with colorful porcelain walls and floors and stone mosaics, and a Byzantine monastery cave. The western entrance here is from the city of Arad. Visitors will be able to climb a sloping path created by Byzantine monks in about 15 minutes.
