Contrary to popular belief, a huge ramp of rock and earth that was used to attack the ancient fortress of Masada in Israel was not entirely man-made, a researcher reported Thursday.
Instead, the bulk of the ramp was a natural rock formation that the Romans built upon, said Dan Gill of the Geological Survey of Israel in Jerusalem.Gill's conclusion, presented in the journal Nature, was disputed Wednesday by an Israeli archaeologist.
Masada sits atop a steep-sided mesa near the Dead Sea. It was the last outpost of the Zealots during the Jewish revolt against Rome that began in A.D. 66. Roman soldiers successfully laid siege to Masada in A.D. 72-73.
The first-century historian Josephus reported that the Romans built a gigantic ramp about 100 yards tall to attack the fort, an account that Gill said has become conventional wisdom.
But Gill said an examination of the ramp, which still stands, found that it is mostly natural bedrock. The Romans piled some earthwork on top, but they apparently did not have to raise it much, he said.
But Meir Ben-Dov, an Israeli archaeologist who has studied Masada, said other evidence argues for the entire ramp being man-made. That includes the presence of wood apparently used to build the ramp and the fact that the ramp partially blocks an aqueduct, suggesting it was built after the aqueduct.