Author Description

The book summarizes the eight volumes of reports of the Masada excavations, directed by Yigael Yadin, that have been published to date. Those excavations revealed findings from a period of over 150 years-from the third decade BCE, when Herod built his fortress atop the cliff of Masada, to the middle of the second century CE, when a Roman garrison was stationed there. While most of the structures unearthed-walls, palaces, storehouses, public buildings, and private dwellings-date from the time of Herod, the vast majority of the other findings-ceramic and stone pottery, written documents dealing with daily life, fragments of scrolls, coins, cloth, and more-have been dated with certainty to the short period (66-73 CE) from the beginning of the revolt against Rome to the fall of Masada. Masada has also become a symbol for many, particularly Israelis. The author devotes the concluding chapter to a review of the status of that symbol today, as he confronts the criticism voiced during the past few years of the expedition's work and conclusions with the archaeological evidence.