Posted on 09/06/2024 9:26:52 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
According to a Haaretz report, a new study of the Roman structures at Masada conducted by Guy Stiebel of Tel Aviv University, Hai Ashkenazi of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and their colleagues suggests that the final siege at the hilltop desert fortress at the end of the First Jewish-Roman War (a.d. 66–73) lasted a couple of weeks, and not a couple of years, as had been previously thought.
The first-century a.d. historian Josephus Flavius recorded that the fortress was captured from the Romans by a group of Jewish rebels known as the Sicarii in A.D. 66.
A Roman legion surrounded Masada with a wall to isolate the Sicarii, and then constructed a siege ramp to enter the fortress around A.D. 73. The researchers estimated the original height, volume, and length of the well-preserved Roman structures through a ground survey, drone imagery, and 3-D digital modeling. They then used historical reports of how much stone a trained Roman soldier could carry in a day to estimate how long it would have taken to construct the siegeworks.
The study indicates that if 5,000 of the 6,000 to 8,000 Roman soldiers at Masada were dedicated to building the wall, it would have taken them 11 to 16 days to complete the task. The ramp may have taken another four to six weeks, resulting in a "quick, brutal, and efficient affair," lasting about two months, Stiebel said.
"They came, they made a precision strike and they left after a few weeks," he explained, adding that the Romans may have undertaken the operation because the Sicarii of Masada had attacked the Jewish town of Ein Gedi to the north and interrupted its lucrative trade in perfume.
(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...
Been there. Since the cable car was inoperative that day, I climbed the ramp.
I believe the original story, not the revision.
The Romans would not have wasted any time tying down a force of that size for months, let alone years.
They would have made quick work of the situation and moved on to the next rebel group..................
Masada needs to be on everyone’s bucket list.
When I lived in Israel we visited. It was an interesting day. The roman style baths and stonework was similar to what you find all over the region, only this is in excellent condition.
The ramp took around two years to build. The two Roman Legion Squares are still evident 2000 years later. That was one hell of a job to build that ramp.
Choosing 10 men to finish the mass sucide the night before the Roman’s entered the top, was still a historic account when I went there in 2006. In the years since they found the 10 names or markers for those choosen to do the final deed. When the Romans searched the top, they found only one old woman alive.
Masada - Never Again.
Hence the name Arrow for the Missile system in part got it’s name from Masada.
Masad - Never Again.
For the Jews, Masada is imprinted upon their collective consciousness and the only the Holocast and the Syria battle on the Golan invokes such strong survival instincts. At the Golan, all the able bodied women and men left their farms and they left a single young girl behind to kill all the children rather than be captured by the Syrians if they came; armed with knives. That must have been horrific for those girls to wait not knowing their loved ones streghtening the few soldiers left in the Golan to a victory the next morning. The Syrian soldiers to their credit would not all fight against the Israeli’s with women mixed in. Much of the aversion to women in combat comes from US Army studies about what happened on the Golan, when the Syrians were captured, those women and sisters who filled the defender’s ranks literally murdered prisioners becasue of the fight/flight/fear factor that was uncontrollable for some of the women. Today we dismiss the emotional component of women.
At least I saw the mini series and have the soundtrack.
I would like to go there.
The article is interesting, and they’re not really discussing the ramp.
The circumvallation wall is the main subject, and the fact that it could have been thrown up in a matter of a fortnight is impressive.
That many disciplined, motivated, and experienced troops - I wouldn’t bet against a body like that building a ramp in much shorter time frame.
The article is interesting, and they’re not really discussing the ramp.
The circumvallation wall is the main subject, and the fact that it could have been thrown up in a matter of a fortnight is impressive.
That many disciplined, motivated, and experienced troops - I wouldn’t bet against a body like that building a ramp in much shorter time frame.
I have problems with “kill your children,kill your little brothers and sisters lest they be captured” and the Commanment against murder.
Perhaps. The fortress on top could have well sustained a small group of people for a few years.
If Josephus got it “wrong” what other Primary Sources are available that disagree with him?
Usually, Historians go with the author who is closest to the event in time.
It’s a very impressive place.
Josephus had a very negative attitude towards the group that defended Masada—he would be amazed at how the story of Masada is treated in modern Israel.
One of the best Mini-series of the era. The soundtrack alone is better than 90% of the ones made then.
They would have been killed anyway in a much worse way. Think Spartacus’s rebellion.
I visited Masada. It is an awe-inspiring place. They found the 10 lots to be drawn by the last 10 men, after they killed their wives and children, then each other. King Herod had built an entire complex there, along with elaborate palaces, storerooms, a complex heating system for water, an ingenious huge cistern to hold water for 1,000 people for 2-3 years, and many buildings. It is so moving to see what the Jewish community there left behind. The unburied men left after their suicides were given burial by modern Israel. I highly recommend seeing Masada both to admire the ingenious technology of the buildings and to be awed by the bravery of the zealots, who died rather than become Roman slaves.
The ramp was actually constructed on top of existing terrain, and may have been a reiteration of a ramp used during the construction of the palace decades before. The Romans didn’t take two years to do anything like this.
The final siege and storming of the place followed the construction of a wall around the entire site to prevent resupply or escape, then the ramp. The entire process took about three months.
The ostraca — apparently used during the drawing of the lots — were found in modern excavations.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnsylee/5426818553
The Josephus Problem
https://search.brave.com/search?q=josephus+problem+math
At least I saw the mini series and have the soundtrack.
I would like to go there.
When the terrorists are sent to Hell, you should go.
I liked Masada so much I even got the IWI Masada pistol. Best 9mm I’ve ever had.
I had to look that model pistol up, didn’t know it.
I'm guessing that Roman Troops did little or none of the heavy lifting, that's what slaves were for.
Read the article. Enjoyed it.
Thank you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
