Masada Again

I found out during my third visit to Masada King Herod had wells built at the base of Masada to store even more water for his use. It was the job of his servants to go fetch fresh water to keep these wells full.

In addition to the wells at the base of Masada, there are several cisterns on top of Masada used to store water. One of these cisterns can hold one million gallons of water. With the only access to the top of Masada being the Snake Path on the eastern side (the Roman siege ramp was not yet built), servants would have to walk miles to the nearest fresh water source and then walk up a steep, windy path with water daily.



King Herod wanted to impress his visitors when they visited Masada. This was done by keeping lush green gardens at the top of Masada, and by erecting a spectacular northern palace, which had three different tiers. King Herod covered all the local stone used to construct the buildings with plaster. He then shaped and painted the plaster to look like Jerusalem rock. This would give the location a look of decadence, and his visitors would think he imported the stone from up north, adding to his perception of power.



I know I’ve already posted once from this trip on Masada, but these facts were too good to go undocumented

Thanks again to Miss Madeleine Tappy for these pictures (my camera was still dead).