ROMAN SIEGE RAMP AT MASADA

The Roman siege ramp at Masada

Siege was always part of warfare in Israel. From the time of the United Monarchy onwards, Israel's soldiers were all too familiar with the methods their enemies used to assail the cities.

When the Zealots took refuge at Masada, they believed themselves to be in an impregnable fortress. But the Romans were past masters of siege warfare, and had military engineers of genius. So when they prepared to assault Masada, they had the resources to build an enormous ramp that led  from valley floor to summit.

On the face of it, this seems an astonishing achievement - and it was. But geologists have recently suggested that the ramp was built along the top of a natural spur of rock leading to the summit. The Romans simply took advantage of this geological feature.

Josephus, the 1st century Jewish historian, backs up the geologists:

'..to the top of the hill from the west, there was a certain eminence of the rock, very broad and very prominent, but three hundred cubits beneath the highest part of Masada; it was called the White Promontory. Accordingly he (the Roman commander Silva) got upon that part of the rock, and ordered the army to bring earth; and when they fell to that work with alacrity, and abundance of them together, the bank was raised, and became solid for two hundred cubits in height...'
(Wars of the Jews, Book 7, Chapter 8)

The plan was to lever a siege engine up the ramp to break down the walls surrounding Masada. Josephus describes what happened:

'Now the Romans expected they should fight in the morning, when accordingly they put on their armor, and laid bridges of planks upon their ladders from their banks, to make an assault upon the fortress, which they did, but saw nobody as an enemy but a terrible solitude on every side, with a fire within the place as well as perfect silence....' (Wars of the Jews, Book 7, Chapter 9)

All the defenders of the fortress, except two women and five children, were dead by their own hand.