I saw a documentary which speculated the mass suicide at Masada was motivated by knowledge of the nearby scrolls. A sacrifice to protect the scrolls from being destroyed.
Seemed sounded plausible, but then I'm not a historian.
20 posted on 11/14/2006 12:26:10 PM PST by AndyTheBear
(Disastrous social experimentation is the opiate of elitist snobs.)