It’s down in the history books of legends. How could the Jews hold onto the fortress of Masada for years without food and water? According to the common myth, the Romans laid siege to the Dead Sea fortress of Masada for three long years. A new survey using advanced technologies indicates that the siege was probably a much quicker affair: more like weeks.

Researchers in Archaeology at Tel Aviv University used a range of modern technologies, including drones, remote sensing, and 3D digital modeling, to generate the first objective, quantified analysis of the Roman siege system at Masada.

Findings indicate that contrary to the widespread myth, the Roman army’s siege of Masada in 73 CE lasted no more than a few weeks.

The study was conducted by Guy Stiebel, together with Hai Ashkenazi to attempt a new understanding of what really happened at Masada. The paper was published in the Journal of Roman Archaeology.

Why the siege against the Jews started?

The First Jewish Revolt against the Romans started in 66 CE after years of political instability. One of the first acts in this war was the seizure of Masada from its Roman garrison by a group of Jewish rebels. At the beginning of the rebellion, the Jewish forces managed to defeat an army led by Cestius Gallus, the governor of Syria.

Later, after suffering heavy losses in the field, and following the arrival in 67 CE of a second expedition led by Vespasian and his son Titus, the local militias usually avoided meeting the Roman forces in the field and took shelter in fortified towns and forts, most of which had been built during previous periods.

This led to a war characterized mainly by Roman siege warfare. Several years of careful Roman advance culminated in the siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, and though the Romans faced bitter resistance from the city’s defenders, the city was conquered and destroyed within that same year.

Read related: ancient date from Masada sprouts after 2000 years

About three years later, the Romans followed the remaining rebels to their last stronghold – Masada. The amount of effort invested by the Romans in chasing these last few hundred rebels to their final refuge in the middle of the desert may seem surprising.

Some researchers argue that it was done in order to completely assert Roman rule over the country, to send a message to other potential rebels, and to “restore the impression of Roman might”; others have recently claimed that the Romans’ aim was to protect the valuable Balsam (opobalsamum) perfume production center at the nearby oasis of Ein Gedi.

The researchers used drones carrying remote sensors that provided precise, high-resolution measurements of the height, width, and length of all features of the siege system. This data was used to build an accurate 3D digital model, enabling exact calculation of the structures’ volume and how long it took to build them.

Researcher Stiebel says: “We use drones, remote sensing, and aerial photography to collect accurate high-resolution data from Masada and its environs, with special emphasis on three aspects: the water systems, the trails leading to and from the palatial fortress, and the Roman siege system.

“The collected information is used to build 3D digital models that provide us with a clear and precise image of the relevant terrains. In the current study we focused on the siege system, which, thanks to the remote location and desert climate, is the best-preserved Roman siege system in the world.”

Dr. Stiebel adds: “For many years, the prevailing theory that became a modern myth asserted that the Roman siege of Masada was a grueling three-year affair. In recent decades researchers have begun to challenge this notion, for various reasons. In this first-of-its kind study we examined the issue with modern technologies enabling precise objective measurements.”

Reliable estimates are available of the quantity of earth and stones a Roman soldier was able to move in one day, the researchers explain. Ashkenazi says: “We also know that approximately 6,000-8,000 soldiers participated in the siege of Masada. Thus, we were able to objectively calculate how long it took them to build the entire siege system – eight camps and a stone wall surrounding most of the site.

“We found that construction took merely about two weeks. Based on the ancient historical testimony it is clear that once the assault ramp was completed, the Romans launched a brutal attack, ultimately capturing the fortress within a few weeks at the most.

“This leads us to the conclusion that the entire siege of Masada lasted no more than several weeks.”

Says Stiebel: “The narrative of Masada, the Great Jewish Revolt, the siege, and the tragic end as related by Flavius Josephus, have all become part of Israeli DNA and the Zionist ethos, and are well known around the world. The duration of the siege is a major element in this narrative, suggesting that the glorious Roman army found it very difficult to take the fortress and crush its defenders.

“For many years it was assumed that the siege took three long years, but in recent decades researchers have begun to challenge this unfounded belief. In our first-of-its-kind study we used objective measurements and advanced technologies to clarify this issue with the first data-driven scientific answer.

“Based on our findings we argue that the Roman siege of Masada took a few weeks at the most. As empires throughout history have done, the Romans came, saw, and conquered, quickly and brutally quelling the uprising in this remote location.

“Our conclusion, however, detracts nothing from the importance of this historical event, and many baffling questions remain to be investigated.

“For example: Why did the Romans put so much effort into seizing this remote and seemingly unimportant fortress?  To answer this and many other intriguing questions we have initiated a vast, innovative project in and around Masada … to ultimately shed new light on the old enigma: What really happened at Masada?”

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The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient handwritten fragments from every book of the Old Testament except for the Book of Esther. They are about 2,000 years old and were found by a Bedouin herdsmen in caves near the Dead Sea in the 1950s. The Dead Sea Scrolls have been called the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century.

Now using advanced imaging equipment, the Israel Antiquities Authority has discovered letters and text on fragments of parchment paper that were previously invisible to the naked eye. The new discovery adds pieces to the mysteries, and open new ones too.

The never before revealed fragments were shown today as part of the international conference – The Dead Sea Scrolls at Seventy. New fragments were discovered and identified from the Books of Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Jubilees -– scrolls that researchers are already familiar with.

During the 1950s archaeologists and Bedouin discovered the scrolls in caves near Qumran at the Dead Sea. Among the cache were tens of thousands of parchment and papyrus fragments written 2,000 years ago and belonging to approximately 1,000 different manuscripts.

Due to their small size and precarious physical state, some of these fragments were placed in boxes without being sorted or deciphered. Now they have been taken out and scanned. Read below for some of the messages.

New imaging technology (originally developed for NASA) used in the digitization project can identify script on some fragments. The identification of new letters and words provides new data for the study of the scrolls. One of the fragments may even indicate the existence of a previously unknown manuscript.

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The new script was discovered by Oren Ableman (below) – a scroll researcher at the Dead Sea Scrolls Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority and a PhD student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He examined a few dozen fragments that were discovered in “Cave 11” near Qumran and was excited to discover traces of ink on many fragments that appeared blank to the naked eye.

Although only a few letters survived in these small fragments, sometimes this was enough to reconstruct the text. Still, due to the fragmentary nature of the evidence these reconstructions are not certain, but are highly likely.

Fragments of particular interest that provide new insights for the research of the Dead Sea Scrolls include the following:

• A fragment belonging to the Temple Scroll, a text dealing with directions for conducting the services in the ideal Temple. In current scholarship there is a debate if there are two or three copies of the Temple Scroll found in Cave 11 near Qumran. The identification of the new fragment strengthens the theory that a manuscript given the number 11Q21 is indeed a third copy of this text from Cave 11.
• In addition, a fragment has been identified as belonging to the Great Psalms Scroll (11Q5). The new fragment preserves part of the beginning of Psalm 147:1. The end of the same verse is preserved in a large fragment that was purchased and originally published by Yigal Yadin. The new fragment indicates that the text of Psalm 147:1 in this manuscript was slightly shorter than the Hebrew text commonly used nowadays.
• Another fragment contains letters written in the ancient Hebrew script (paleo-Hebrew). This fragment could not be attributed to any one of the known manuscripts. This raises the possibility that it belonged to a still unknown manuscript.

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It is raining again in Amman, Jordan today.  Our winter snow has melted, and new green growth fringes the open hills outside the city. But the contrast is not as striking as in this blooming desert.

I’ve only seen the Judean hills from an airplane, flying over low when I enter and exit Jordan. From the sky, it’s a barren expanse of yellow and gold sand, dry wadis etched in snakelike patterns between craggy hills. The relatively small desert (about 1,500 km2) is sparsely populated and bordered by the Mountains of Judea to the west and the Dead Sea to the east, where its ancient cliffs tower 300 meters above the shoreline.

Cohen told Jewish News, “The biggest storm of this winter in Israel, brought with it enormous amount of rainfall to all parts of the country including in places we would normally not even dream of having that much rain, such as Be’er Sheva in the Negev.”

Located about 1,200 meters beneath the Jerusalem Mountains, the desert acts as a basin for regional rainfall. This winter’s storms filled the usually dry valleys with strong water flows and flooding.  The result is a thick carpet of grass covering the desert’s hills.

Several ancient rivers cross the desert, creating canyons up to 500 meters deep. Some of these rivers flow year round and create oases such as Nahal Arugot, Nahal Prat, and Nahal David. Others lie dormant, only flowing in the aftermath of seasonal storms. The result is a constantly changing landscape.

Chalk hills, cliffs and mountains stand alongside plateaus, riverbeds, and deep canyons. This rugged landscape has provided isolation to monks and hermits throughout history, as well as refuge for rebels and zealots. This is also where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered hidden, decades back in a cave in Qumran.

For modern seekers of urban escape, the desert boasts nature reserves (Ein Gedi), historic sites (the Maccabees fortress, Masada), monasteries and spectacular panoramas.

There are so many ways to explore this unique landscape. Travel on foot, by bicycle, or with an SUV.  Go with a guide or trek it alone. Lodge in one of the many area hotels or camp out under the stars for a real desert experience. Cohen urges everyone, “Definitely consider paying a visit to the Judean desert, but hurry up before the desert will go back to its regular outfit – dry and yellow!”

Images by Nir Cohen from The Jewish News  

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The Arad police were conducting routine training that morning and noticed suspicious movement in a cave on a distant cliff in Nahal Ze’elim. They immediately alerted UPAR inspectors who arrived on site with surveillance equipment that enabled them to observe and document the activity.

The cave is known as “The Cave of the Skulls” sited in an area known as “Leopard’s Ascent”.

Robbed by goat cliff

It is 70 meters below the cliff-top plateau and 150 meters above the valley and can only be reached via a narrow goat path that threads through upright bedrock walls.

The IAA said it observed the suspects carrying out “illicit excavation using a metal detector and a large amount of excavating equipment.” The robbers caused extensive damage to the cave by digging through layers of earth while destroying archaeological strata and historical evidence from the Roman period dating 2,000 years ago and the Chalcolithic period five thousand years back.

IAA inspectors captured the suspects at the top of the cliff; the thieves were carrying ancient artifacts, including a 2,000 year old lice comb from the Roman period (image below).

“The robbers attempt to locate and find Dead Sea scrolls, pieces of ancient texts and unique artifacts that were left in the caves, particularly during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 66–70 CE and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132–135 CE, when Jewish fighters fearing the Roman army sought refuge in the desert,”  said UPAR director, Amir Ganor.

In a press release, Ganor said, “For many years gangs of antiquities robbers have been operating along the Judean Desert cliffs. The robbers attempt to locate and find Dead Sea scrolls, pieces of ancient texts and unique artifacts that were left in the caves, particularly during the Great Revolt against the Romans in 66–70 CE and the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132–135 CE, when Jewish fighters fearing the Roman army sought refuge in the desert.

“These are sold for large sums of money in the antiquities markets in Israel and around the world.”

He added, “What makes the Judean Desert so unique is its dry climate that enable the preservation of rare leather, bone, and wooden objects, including the scrolls, parchment and papyrus, on which various texts were written. Over the years many of the plundered finds reached the antiquities markets in Israel and abroad, but it has been decades since perpetrators were caught red-handed. This is mainly due to the difficultly in detecting and catching them on the wild desert cliffs”.

A special operation to foil robbers was part of a complex operation which had been underway for over a year.

Excavating in antiquities sites without a license and destroying an ancient site constitute a severe violation of the law, and can result in prison sentences of up to 5 years. Additional suspects will be investigated in connection with this theft and others in the region.

Images used with permission from the IAA

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