Masada
The site of Herod's royal citadel and grand palace, Masada, was later the last outpost of Zealots during the Jewish Revolt. The citadel was the location where rebels committed mass suicide rather than submit to Roman capture. It was later the site of a small Byzantine chapel built by monks in 5th century A.D.
Some key facts concerning Masada include:
- Parts of 14 biblical, apocryphal and sectarian scrolls were found at Masada.
- One important find was a sectarian document identical with one found in Qumran, using a 364-day calendar also used by a Dead Sea Sect. This provided a proof that the Dead Sea Scrolls were dated correctly.
- Another important scroll was the original of "The wisdom of Ben-Sira", an apocrypha of the 2nd century; its Greek translation was knows as "Ecclesiasticus". Since this text was not included in the Tanakh, the original Hebrew text was lost; excerpts from it were found only in 1896 in the Cairo Geniza.
- A small Byzantine chapel was constructed by monks in 5th century A.D. Once its floor had been covered by mosaic. In a small chamber, where the floor was covered with high piles of debris, a beautiful section of a mosaic floor was uncovered.
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