Over 8/10 of a mile around the top of Masada. It is 23 acres.
David fled here from Saul. In First Samuel 23:25 it is called "the rock". Herod built most of what is seen here when he turned it into a fortress palace. In 72 AD the last of the Jewish rebels against Rome fled here. The Romans built the siege work on the west side and took Masada.
On the North end of Masada Herod built a series of three palaces.
These appeared from the ground to be hanging palaces. Herod used them to impress and intimidate his guests. They were also designed to be the last line of defense even after the mountain of Masada was taken.
Here is a view down from Masada. This is 1500 feet (a quarter of a mile) above the level of the Dead Sea which is seen just to the east of Masada in some of these photos.
Looking down at a Roman camp. It is the square that is a wall made of large rocks to protect one of the Roman's several camps during the siege here in 72-73 AD.
The Romans also built a large rock wall all the way around Masada to keep people from coming and going. This is still visible in some of these pictures.
This is the steep cliff on the north side. The lower level of the palace is seen here.
This is the very impressive siege ramp that the Romans constructed to the top of Masada. They did this so they could roll their battering rams and siege engines to the top to attack the walls of Masada.
Here we can see the largest of the Roman camps. In front of the camp the containment wall can be seen.
The Romans had 8 camps positioned around Masada. The wall encircling Masada was almost 2 miles long.
For more information go to Carl Rasmussen's site HERE
This is another palace on the top surface of Masada towards the west side. It is called the Western Palace.
This is currently under excavation.
These are store rooms that have not been restored.
These are store rooms that have been restored.
The Dead Sea is visible in the back of this photo looking east.
Mosaic in a Byzantine church.
Model of the three levels of the hanging palace on the north end
From this angle all three levels can be seen.
Here are the lower two levels as seen from the first (top) level.
Notice on the ground the square formed by the Roman rock wall used to defend their camp.
These are the lower two levels of the hanging palace.
Standing on the lowest level I took this photo of the middle and the top levels of the hanging palace.
The next six photos are of the lower level of the palace.
Here you can see some of the original wall covering and paint (fresco) in the back ground. The brighter paint and and wall covering has been restored.
When Josephus described these pillars he called them marble pillars. That was the way they were designed to look to the guests. Here we see they were circular shaped rock that wrtr stacked and then covered with plaster and fluted to give the appearance of marble.
Stone columns and walls covered with plaster and painted making the fresco covering.
This is original in this photo
Original Fresco from Herod the Great's palace.
The back wall of the lower level of the palace
These are the original stone columns that would have been covered with plaster to imitate marble. The paint or fresco seen here has been restored.
A Corinthian Capital on the lower lever of the three.
This is the second level of the three hanging palaces.
A model of the bath house
A model of the rooms in the bath house.
Original Fresco on the walls in Herod's bath house.
The Mosaic Floor and the Fresco wall of one of the rooms in the bath house.
There was a furnace room connected to this room. Steam would move from the furnace room through the tile in the wall that is seen here behind the plaster. This would give the room heated walls.
The same furnace room moved steam under the floor. The short columns that are seen here supported a floor that was also heated.
This photo is of the east side of Masada.
The trail that is seen here is called the Serpent by Josephus.
The Serpentine Trail or the Snake Path descends 900 feet.
I took the Snake Path, that Josephus had described almost 2,000 years ago, down the east side of Masada .
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Josephus writes about this trail as it was in 70 AD. He writes: "the one of these ways is called the Serpent, as resembling that animal in its
narrowness and its perpetual windings . . . and he that would walk along it must first
go on one leg and then on the other; there is also nothing but destruction in case
your feet slip, for on each side there is a vastly deep chasm."
The Snake Path continues down the side of Masada.
I did enjoy the walk and spent some time considering the historical and spiritual implications of what I was experiencing that morning on Masada.
I walked the Snake Path. Toni took the cable car!
This is a picture of Toni in the cable car as it passed above me while I was walking on the Serpentine Trail down the side of Masada.
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