Explore the siege of Masada, one of the final events of the First Jewish-Roman War, fought from 73 to 74 CE atop a dramatic hilltop in present-day Israel. This documentary weighs the archaeological evidence against the account of Josephus, who described a prolonged Roman siege ending in the mass suicide of the fortress's Jewish rebels and residents. The Tenth Legion ringed the plateau with a wall and camps and drove an assault ramp up its western flank, all of which survive on the desert floor. Above them stood Herod's palace complex, whose cisterns and storerooms allowed the defenders to hold out. Masada is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and among the most thoroughly excavated places in the country.
