THE DEFENDERS OF MASADA

An almost impregnable fortress - notice the Roman siege ramp at top right

Even after Jerusalem fell to the Romans, Masada held out for months and then years.

The rebels were led by Eleazar the son of Jair, a descendant of Judas the Galilean who had resisted the initial creation of the province of Judaea. They have been romanticised in recent years, but they were frightening people.

The Roman army surrounded Masada, cut off its links with the outside world, and began a long siege. Yigael Yadin, in his book 'Masada', describes the large camp of the Roman general Flavius Silva, and also the pathetic personal items remaining from the rebels - skeletons, skulls, a young woman's plaited hair, pieces of fabric and basket weave, pots and pans and leather sandals.

These are all that was left of the defenders of Masada, who committed mass suicide just before the Romans completed their siege ramp and broke through the walls protecting Masada.