 Overview of Masada, looking north. The
synagogue is located in the northwest wall of the fortress.
Overview
The ancient fortress of Masada is located near
the western shore of the Dead Sea about ten miles south of the town of En-gedi. Situated
on top of a cliff rising over 1,200 feet above the surrounding desert, the fortress was
originally constructed during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 BCE) and later
extensively expanded under Herod the Great (37–4 BCE), who added two luxurious
palaces, a Roman bathhouse, twelve huge cisterns, and a number of other structures.
According to the Jewish historian Josephus, near the beginning
of the Jewish War, a large band of Sicarii (Jewish revolutionaries) somehow managed to
take possession of Masada from the attending Roman garrison. Josephus goes on to describe
in detail the campaign undertaken against the Sicarii in 73 CE by Roman legions under the
command of Flavius Silva. The lengthy siege of the fortress ended with the Romans breaking
through the defensive walls only to discover that all but a few hidden women and children
had committed suicide.
Masada was first systematically excavated between 1963 and
1965 by a team under the direction of Yigael Yadin. The excavations uncovered evidence of
occupation from the time of Jannaeus through the Byzantine era, including a period of
habitation by the Jewish rebels. During the first season of excavation, a structure that
Yadin subsequently identified as a synagogue was uncovered in the northwestern section of
the upper plateau of the fortress. Built into the casemate wall that circles the plateau,
the rectangular building measures 15 x 12 meters and was constructed in two distinct
phases.
The first phase, dated to the period of Herod, was possibly
used as a stable. Upon occupying the fortress, the rebels transformed the building into a
synagogue, adding benches along the walls, with columns intervening between the seating
and the center of the hall--a configuration characteristic of the Galilean-type synagogue.
Fragments of Deuteronomy and Ezekiel scrolls were discovered in a back room, which appears
to have been the temporary residence of an attendant, quite possibly a priest.
View of the synagogue from the east. Most likely this structure was originally a
stable. During the Jewish War of 66-73 CE, however, the Jewish rebels transformed it,
adding tiers of benches for the congregation and a backroom for the synagogue attendant.
Ehud Netzer, one of the excavators, estimates that structure could accommodate 250
persons.
View of the synagogue from the southeast corner. The flag is positioned just above the
entrance to the attendant's room. An ostracon (potsherd) with the words "priest's
tithe" (in Hebrew) was found just outside this room (see
below). This led the director of excavations, Yigael Yadin, to suggest that the
attendant was a priest.
Side view of the synagogue, looking north. The arrow points to a niche which may once
have housed a Torah scroll. Fragments of Ezekiel and Deuteronomy were found buried in the
backroom of the structure (just left of the niche).
View of the synagogue from the east. The single bench in the background was probably
where the archisynagogoi or "leaders of the synagogue" sat. Similar
seating arrangements appear in the synagogues at Gamla, Herodium, Delos and Ostia.
An overhead view of the synagogue, clearly showing its position within the fortress
wall.
Ostracon found in the synagogue near the attendant's room. Written in Hebrew, it bears
the words "priest's tithe" (m'shr chn). Yadin thought this may have
been part of a jar bearing a tithe for the synagogue attendant, a priest.
Top plan and section of the Masada synagogue. (Click image for more detail.)
Other Sites devoted to Masada:
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Masada
