Masada - The Southern Fort - Israel
Posted by: 
ashberry
N 31° 18.754 E 035° 21.156
36R E 723886 N 3466633
Masada, the southern fort / southern observation point – looking out over the He'etekim Cliff, Mt Eleazar and Wadi Masada
Waymark Code: WM14DY1
Location: Israel
Date Posted: 06/20/2021
Views: 3
Masada could be accessed in antiquity via the southern cliff. This is apparently the reason a fort was built at this point, from which the southern approach to Masada could be watched. This point affords a spectacular view of Wadi Masada, the Dead Sea, the siege wall, and the siege camps. Camp H, on the cliff to the south, had a view of the top of the plateau.
Masada was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. Its inscription on this prestigious list epitomizes its outstanding universal significance, which must be protected for the benefit of all humanity. Masada was the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans;its fall signaled the violent destruction of the kingdom of Judea at the end of the Second Temple period. The tragic events of the last days of the rebels at Masada transformed it into both a Jewish cultural icon and a symbol of humanity’s continuous struggle for freedom from oppression.Built by Herod, king of Judea, Masada was a palatial fortress in the style of the ancient Roman East. The camps, fortifications, and assault ramp at its base constitute the most complete surviving ancient Roman siege system in the world.
The plateau of Masada is located on the eastern fringe of the Judean Desert near the shore of the Dead Sea, between En Gedi and Sodom. It is a mountain bloc that rose and was detached from the fault escarpment, surrounded at its base by Wadi Ben Yair on the west and Wadi Masada on the south and east.The plateau, 450 meters above the level of the Dead Sea, is approximately650 meters long and 300 meters wide. East of the mountain is sediment left by the ancient Dead Sea, scored by numerous cracks.
Source: (
visit link)