Editing Masada (section)

=== Yigael Yadin expedition ===
Masada was extensively excavated between 1963 and 1965 by an expedition led by [[Archaeology of Israel|Israeli archaeologist]] and former military [[Chief of General Staff (Israel)|Chief-of-Staff]] [[Yigael Yadin]].

Due to the remoteness from human habitation and its arid environment, the site remained largely untouched by humans or nature for two millennia.

Many of the ancient buildings have been restored from their remains, as have the wall paintings of Herod's two main palaces, and the Roman-style [[Public bathing|bathhouse]]s that he built. The [[synagogue]], storehouses, and houses of the Jewish rebels have also been identified and restored.

Water cisterns two-thirds of the way up the cliff drain the nearby [[wadi]]s by an elaborate system of channels, which explains how the rebels managed to conserve enough water for such a long time.

The Roman attack ramp still stands on the western side and can be climbed on foot. The meter-high circumvallation wall that the Romans built around Masada can be seen, together with eight Roman siege camps just outside this wall. The Roman siege installations as a whole, especially the attack ramp, are the best preserved of their kind, and the reason for declaring Masada a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Due to the great interest shown by the public, Yadin published a book in 1966 for the general public, "מצדה" ("Masada").

==== Epigraphic findings ====
Inside the synagogue, an [[ostracon]] bearing the inscription ''ma'aser cohen'' ({{Script/Hebrew|מעשר כוהן}}, [[tithe]] for the priest) was found, as were fragments of two scrolls: parts of [[Deuteronomy]] and of the [[Book of Ezekiel]] including the vision of the [[Dem Bones|"dry bones"]] ({{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|33–34}} and {{bibleverse|Ezekiel|35–38}}), found hidden in pits dug under the floor of a small room built inside the synagogue. In other [[Locus (archaeology)|loci]], fragments were found of the books of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], [[Leviticus]], [[Psalms]], and [[Sirach]], as well as of the [[Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice]].

In the area in front of the Northern Palace, 11 small ostraca were recovered, each bearing a single name. One reads "ben Ya'ir" ({{Script/Hebrew|בןיאיר}}) and could be short for Eleazar ben Ya'ir, the commander of the fortress. The other 10 names may be those of the men chosen by lot to kill the others and then themselves, as recounted by Josephus.

====Human remains====
[[File:Dan Hadani collection (990044331600205171).jpg|alt=Funeral to the human remains unearthed at Masada, 1969|thumb|upright|Funeral to the human remains unearthed at Masada, 1969. [[Menachem Begin]] and [[Yisrael Yeshayahu]] second and third in front from right.]]
The remains of a maximum of 28 people<ref name=Zias2000/> were unearthed at Masada, possibly 29 including a [[foetus]].<ref name="Tabor">[[James D. Tabor]], [https://pages.uncc.edu/james-tabor/archaeology-and-the-dead-sea-scrolls/masada-cave-20002001  Masada: Cave 2000/2001], on the website "The Jewish Roman World of Jesus", [[University of North Carolina at Charlotte]]. Posted no earlier than October 1994, accessed February 2019.</ref> The skeletal remains of 25 individuals were found in a cave outside and below the southern wall. The remains of another two males and a female were found in the bathhouse of the Northern Palace.<ref name="ZiasGorski"/>

Of the [[Public bathing|bathhouse]] remains, the males were variously estimated to have been of an age of either 40 and 20–22, or 22 and 11–12, or based on dental remains, between 16–18 of age.  One estimate for the female's age was 17–18 years.<ref name="ZiasGorski"/><ref name=Zias2000/> The skeletal remains of the males were incomplete. Only the hair, a full head of hair with braids, but no bones of the female were found.<ref name="ZiasGorski"/> 

Forensic analysis showed the hair had been shaved from the woman's head with a sharp instrument while she was still alive, a practice prescribed for captured women in the Bible ({{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|21:10–12}}) and the 2nd-century BCE [[Temple Scroll]]. The braids indicate that she was married.<ref name="ZiasGorski"/> Based on the evidence, anthropologist [[Joe Zias]] and forensic scientist Azriel Gorski believe the remains may have been Romans whom the rebels captured when they seized the garrison.<ref name="ZiasGorski">
Joseph (Joe) Zias and Azriel Gorski, [https://www.academia.edu/25836648/Capturing_a_Beautiful_Woman_at_Masada  Capturing a Beautiful Woman at Masada], [[Near Eastern Archaeology (journal)|Near Eastern Archaeology]] (NEA) (69:1), 2006, pp. 45–48.</ref><ref name=" Friedman ">{{cite news |last= Friedman |first= Matti |date=June 22, 2007 |title= Some Masada Remains Questioned by Study |newspaper= [[Washington Post]] |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/22/AR2007062201113.html |access-date=March 22, 2010 }}</ref>

As to the sparse remains of 24 people{{dubious|Not 25? Same source is indicated!|date=February 2019}} found in the southern cave at the base of the cliff, excavator Yigael Yadin was unsure of their ethnicity. The rabbinical establishment concluded that they were remains of the Jewish defenders, and in July 1969, they were reburied as Jews in a state ceremony.<ref name=Zias2000>{{cite book |author=Joe Zias |chapter=Human Skeletal Remains from the Southern cave at Masada and the Question of Ethnicity |title=The Dead Sea scrolls fifty years after their discovery |editor=L. Schiffman, J. VanderKam and M. Emanuel |publisher=Israel Exploration Society |year=2000 |place=Jerusalem |pages=732–738}}</ref> Carbon dating of textiles found with the remains in the cave indicate they are contemporaneous with the period of the revolt, and pig bones were present, occasionally occurring for Roman burials due to pig sacrifices. This indicates that the remains may belong to non-Jewish Roman soldiers or civilians who occupied the site before or after the siege.<ref name=Zias2000/> Zias questioned whether as many as 24 individuals were present, since only 4% of that number of bones was recovered.<ref name=Zias2000/>

==== Roman-period palm seed ====
{{main|Judean date palm}}
A [[Judean date palm#Germination of 2000-year-old seeds|2,000-year-old Judean date palm seed]] discovered during archaeological excavations in the early 1960s was successfully [[germinate]]d into a [[date plant]], popularly known as "[[Methuselah]]" after the longest-living figure in the [[Hebrew Bible]]. At the time, it was the oldest known germination,<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/2000yearold-seed-grows-into-tree-of-life-for-scientists-846247.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614174628/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/2000yearold-seed-grows-into-tree-of-life-for-scientists-846247.html |archive-date=June 14, 2008 |title=2,000-year-old seed grows into 'tree of life' for scientists |date=June 13, 2008 |access-date=2008-06-17 |publisher=Independent News |location=London |first=Steve |last=Connor }}</ref> remaining so until a new record was set in 2012.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/science/new-life-from-an-arctic-flower-that-died-32000-years-ago.html | title=Dead for 32,000 Years, an Arctic Plant Is Revived | date=February 20, 2012| access-date=2012-02-20 | newspaper=New York Times | location=New York| first=Nicholas| last=Wade}}</ref> As of February 2024, it remains the oldest germination from a seed.

==== Byzantine monastery ====
The remnants of a [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine church]] dating from the fifth and sixth centuries have been excavated on the plateau.