Herodeion

A Palestinian site with a fortress built by Herod the Great (37-4 BC) and the site of his tomb. It was a stronghold for Jewish rebels against the Roman rule.

Most of the surviving ceremonial buildings and fortifications date to the Hasmonean Dynasty and the period of Roman domination of Syria-Palestine; Herod the Great (c.37–4 BC) constructed a palace complex, like that at the fortress of Herodium, as well as granaries, baths and water cisterns. In AD 73 the site achieved lasting fame as the stronghold in which almost a thousand Zealots committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the 10th Roman Legion; there is good archaeological evidence for the Zealots’ re-use of the Herodian palace, including the construction of a synagogue and a pair of ritual baths (mikvah).

Herodium is a man-made mountain located in the middle of the desert region of the Judean wilderness, 8 miles south of Jerusalem and 3 miles east of Bethlehem. Herod, Palestine's greatest builder, created the seven-story palace atop a natural hill and then constructed a sloping fill of earth and gravel around it, partially burying his palace to create a virtually impenetrable wall of defense. Originally, the seven story monolith rose 90 feet above the ground, but the top three layers have since been destroyed.