BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Besieging Masada

A Roman fortress on a cliffside across from Masada. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

The first-century CE siege of Masada is one of the most famous sieges in the history of Judah. Despite this, little is actually known about the Roman siege works, with most earlier studies focusing instead on the desert fortress and the Judean defenses. Publishing in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, a team of Israeli archaeologists has shed new light on the siege works, focusing on how they were constructed, how much time it would have taken to build them, and what was their actual purpose.

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Building a Wall Around a Mountain

Consisting of an encircling wall, towers, forts, and a giant earthen ramp, the Roman siege works around Masada are an impressive feat of construction, still visible after nearly two millennia. So, how long did they actually take to construct, and why did the Roman army spend that time and effort to capture a single fortress? To get to the bottom of these questions, a team of Israeli archaeologists carried out the most extensive analysis of the siege works to date, through field surveys, excavations, and 3D mapping.

The multi-year project focused predominantly on the poorly studied encircling wall and its associated towers and forts. Made up of seven separate sections, the wall extended for over 2.5 miles, with another 1.5 miles constructed to surround the eight camps and 15 towers built along and near the wall. On average, the walls were 6.5 feet thick and around 8 feet tall, while the towers stood to a height of 11 feet. Based on these numbers, the team estimated that it would have taken the 5,000 Roman soldiers laying siege to Masada roughly two weeks to construct the siege works and several more weeks for the construction of the ramp.

Model of Masada. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

However, the team’s analysis revealed more than just how long it would have taken to build the wall; it also shed new light on the wall’s function. Although one of the main purposes of siege walls was to protect the attacking army against counterstrikes, the walls around Masada were too short to provide sufficient defense against mounted attacks from inside Masada, and they lacked parapets to protect Roman troops on top of them. Additionally, the towers were spaced too far apart to allow archers to cover the entire territory. Instead, various sections of the wall performed slightly different purposes.

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The areas of the wall around the wadis and gullies of the nearby cliff, for instance, received extra protection to deter outside rebels from coming to the aid of Masada. The southern section of the wall similarly had its towers placed on convex portions of the wall, directed towards the south, to defend against additional enemies from that direction, although the wall’s lack of complexity and shortness indicates that the Romans did not expect a significant threat. Other sections of the wall, however, seem to have been intended for psychological impact, presenting the rebels inside the fortress with the mere appearance of power.

Overlooking the desert surrounding Masada. Courtesy Nathan Steinmeyer, BAS.

The question of why the Romans expended so much time and effort to take Masada still lacks a clear answer, however. While the siege is famous in the modern mind, it was far less important at the time, as the desert fortress housed only a few hundred rebels, and the Romans had already succeeded in conquering Jerusalem a few years earlier, in 70 CE. Nonetheless, the Romans marched to Masada in 73. While this may have been an ultimate display of force, some scholars, including Guy Stiebel, director of the current Masada excavations and the article’s co-author, believe that it was done to protect the lucrative balsam trade based around Ein Gedi a short distance from Masada.

Related reading in Bible History Daily:

Masada: The Dead Sea’s Desert Fortress

Masada Dig Reveals a Pleasure-Garden at King Herod’s Palace

The Masada Siege

Study Finds Romans Lacked Local Timber for Masada Siege

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Masada: History and Archaeology

Masada Shall Never Fail (to Surprise) Again

Masada—The Final Reports

Masada: Arms and the Man

The Masada Siege—From the Roman Viewpoint

Masada Dig Reveals a Pleasure-Garden at King Herod’s Palace