Masada reassessed

[guy]

 

We have had numerous posts about the Siege of Masada (AD 72-73), detailing the valiant yet ultimately ill-fated stand of the Jewish Sicarii against the forces of Titus, son of Vespasian, and the formidable Roman Empire.

Researchers now estimate that the “siege wall could have been completed by 6,000-8,000 soldiers in less than two weeks, leaving them free to concentrate on building a ramp that ultimately breached the fortress.”

This would suggest that “the ramp could have been completed in a month, all pointing to a far shorter timeframe for the siege, which may have lasted two months rather than two years.”
 

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In comparing the siege system of Masada to other sieges conducted by the Roman army, it becomes evident that when faced with a formidable threat from the besieged army or from the outside, the Roman army built different siege systems – at Numantia (133 BCE) and Alesia (52 BCE) they built daunting obstacles that included thick walls (up to 4.7 m wide), parapets, ditches, traps, and towers positioned within bowshot gaps (less than 31 m). These siege fortifications were meant to withstand massive counterattacks from the besieged armies. The siege system at Masada, on the other hand, was not as elaborate. Therefore, we suggest that the Romans did not expect massive resistance, either from the fortress itself or from the outside.
 

 

 

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Our workload calculations show that 5,000 men could have built the siege system around Masada in 11–16 days. This figure is higher than the estimations of Ben-Tor and Roth, who claimed that the construction of the circumvallation could have been finished in fewer than 5 days, though their estimations are based on a speech given by Hadrian to Roman soldiers in Africa, wherein he states that one soldier can build 1 m³ of stone wall per day. We believe this figure to be exaggerated. During the 70 CE siege of Jerusalem, the Roman forces, five times greater in number than those at Masada, built 7 km of circumvallation wall and 13 camps in three days. If we assume that the other parameters were similar (e.g., the wall widths and heights, the stones having been brought from the same distance), we may calculate the time required to build the Masada siege system in terms of the workdays needed to build the Jerusalem system multiplied by 5 (the workforce in Masada was 5 times smaller) and divided by 1⅔ (the siege system in Jerusalem was 1⅔ larger). This leads us to a figure of 9 working days, which is closer to our estimation than to Roth and Ben-Tor's.

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/sep/04/romans-siege-wall-masada-archaeology-israel

 

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-archaeology/article/roman-siege-system-of-masada-a-3d-computerized-analysis-of-a-conflict-landscape/32C59BE59ACD3E9A91C95F947DFD271E

 

 

This research supports Israeli scholar Nachman Ben-Yehuda's controversial proposal (see article below) that the siege lasted a minimum of 4 weeks, at most 9 weeks, and most likely 7 weeks.

 

 

https://www.deportati.it/static/upl/be/benyehuda,themasadamyth.pdf

Edited September 8 by guy

[guidoLaMoto]

Considering that Caesar's bridge over the Rhine was a much more sophisticated and complex design and the logistics of working over a limited area of access took only 10 days to complete 400m of structure, and the 25 km of double walls and trenches at Alesia took only a month, a shorter construction time at Masada is more likely....

Hadrian's claim that a legionnaire could build a cubic meter of wall in one day may be correct if we're talking about a masonry wall requiring one mason and several hod carriers to collect and transport the stone to the wall. But if we're talking about merely digging a fossa and piling the dirt as the vallum, then that is a gross under-estimation- a fox hole, approximately  one cu m,  can be dug in just a few minutes by a GI when the artillery shells are flying.

Incidentally, my WWII vet father always said about religion--"You'll never find an atheist in a fox hole under bombardment."

[guy]

 

Here is an interesting video and articles on the siege. The research suggests that the attack was more about preserving the lucrative local balsam (a perfume) industry disrupted by rebels, rather than just conquering dissidents.

 

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“Until recently, the Masada siege has been looked at through the eyes of the besieged, but the decision to send soldiers was a Roman one,” Stiebel concluded that the Romans may have been more interested in preserving the production of balsam, a perfume, at Ein Gedi than crushing the Jewish rebellion. 

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Not only have researchers found evidence suggesting the rapid pace of Roman construction, but they also underscored a lack of archaeological proof to support the idea that the Jewish rebels occupied the site for three years.

While speaking to the Times of Israel, Stiebel explained that if the Roman army had been encamped there for years, there would have been the remains of extensive trash piles, food and animals, discarded artifacts, graves and other signs, such as those found in other long-term Roman camps. Because there isn't, he said, “this clearly shows us that this episode was a short one.”  

 

 

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Balsam, produced by the sap of certain trees, “was a luxury product, like modern perfumes that come in very small, expensive bottles. And there was a big demand for this,” Stiebel said. Balsam was a true precious commodity in the ancient world and the Ein Gedi plantation, along with two others near Jericho, had been coveted by historical figures such as Alexander the Great and Cleopatra.

“The moment that they damaged the balsam production, they affected empire finances… We know that the revolt happened during a period of weakness in the Roman Empire. They needed money. And it seems [the raid] crossed a red line for the Romans,” he said, so they sent their soldiers to destroy the perpetrators.

 

 

https://allisrael.com/new-research-points-to-a-different-narrative-of-roman-siege-of-masada

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/masada-legend-upended-the-romans-came-saw-and-conquered-quickly-and-brutally/?utm_source=The+Weekend+Edition&utm_campaign=weekend-edition-2024-09-08&utm_medium=email

 

Masada legend upended: 'The Romans came, saw and conquered, quickly and brutally' | The Times of Israel

 

Edited September 9 by guy