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Herodium
Also known
as el-Fureidis, Har Hordos, Herodeion, Herodion, Jebel Fureidis |
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From Bethlehem
Herodium
is 3 miles southeast of Bethlehem and 8 miles south of Jerusalem.
Its summit is 2460 feet above sea level. Herod
built or re-built eleven fortresses. This one he constructed on
the location of his victory over Antigonus in 40 B.C. |
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Herod's Herodium Constructed
over a small pre-existing hill, the Herodium was a fortress for Herod to
quickly flee to from Jerusalem and a luxurious palace for his
enjoyment. He chose to
be buried here and the mountain is the shape of a tumulus. Herod's
tomb has not been discovered in the recent excavations. |
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The Palace Herod
built the mountain by first erecting a double-walled cylinder with an
outer diameter of 200 feet. There were seven stories in the
cylinder including two or three at the top which no longer exist.
Afterwards a massive fill of earth and gravel was placed against the
cylinder. The four towers are located at the points of the
compass. |
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The Bathhouse Another
symbol of Herod's extravagance in building, this full-size Roman
bathhouse had the typical design of four rooms - apodyterium (changing
room), tepidarium (stretching room), caldarium (steam room) and
frigidarium (cold bath). The
floor
was paved with white and black mosaics and the
walls were decorated with frescoes of many colors and geometric
designs. |
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The Synagogue Probably
a triclineum (dining room arranged with three tables) in Herod's day,
this room was transformed into a synagogue by the Jewish rebels who took
over the Herodium in 70 A.D. First
century A.D. parallels to this synagogue exist at Masada and Gamla, two
sites also captured and held by Jewish fighters in the war against Rome. |
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