Editing Dead Sea (section)

===Greek and Roman period===
Greek and Jewish writers report that the [[Nabateans]] had [[monopolistic]] control over the Dead Sea.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hammond |first=Philip C. |date=1959 |title=The Nabataean Bitumen Industry at the Dead Sea |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3209307 |journal=The Biblical Archaeologist |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=40–48 |doi=10.2307/3209307 |jstor=3209307 |s2cid=133997328 }}</ref>

Archaeological evidence shows multiple anchorages existing on both sides of the sea, including in [[Ein Gedi]], [[Khirbet Mazin]] (where the ruins of a [[Hasmonean]]-era dry dock are located), [[Numeira]] and near [[Masada]].<ref name="anchorages">{{cite journal |last1=  Hadas|first1= Gideon|date= April 2011|title= Dead Sea Anchorages|journal= Revue Biblique |volume= 118 |issue= 2|pages= 161–179|jstor= 44092052}}</ref><ref>[https://www.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/special-find-sailing-dead-sea Sailing the Dead Sea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106104318/https://www.imj.org.il/en/exhibitions/special-find-sailing-dead-sea |date=2019-01-06 }}, [[Israel Museum]]</ref>

King [[Herod the Great]] built or rebuilt several fortresses and palaces on the western bank of the Dead Sea. The most famous was [[Masada]], where in 70 CE a small group of Jewish [[zealots]] fled after the fall of the destruction of the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|Second Temple]]. The zealots survived until 73 CE, when a siege by the [[Roman legion|X Legion]] ended in the deaths by suicide of its 960 inhabitants. Another historically important fortress was [[Machaerus]] (מכוור), on the eastern bank, where, according to Josephus, [[John the Baptist]] was imprisoned by [[Herod Antipas]] and died.<ref>[[Josephus]], ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'' [http://old.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=J.+AJ+18.119 18.119]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=BabbaQ |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref>

{{rquote|right|Again if, as is fabled, there is a lake in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], such that if you bind a man or beast and throw it in it floats and does not sink, this would bear out what we have said. They say that this lake is so bitter and salty that no fish live in it and that if you soak clothes in it and shake them it cleans them. — [[Aristotle]], ''[[Meteorology (Aristotle)|Meteorology]]''}}

Also in Roman times, some [[Essenes]] settled on the Dead Sea's western shore; [[Pliny the Elder]] identifies their location with the words, "on the west side of the Dead Sea, away from the coast ... [above] the town of Engeda" (''Natural History'', Bk 5.73); and it is therefore a hugely popular but contested hypothesis today, that same Essenes are identical with the settlers at [[Qumran]] and that "the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]]" discovered during the 20th century in the nearby caves had been their own library.

[[File:Madaba BW 9 THERMA KALLIROIS highlighted.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|A cargo boat on the Dead Sea as seen on the [[Madaba Map]], from the 6th century AD]] [[Josephus]] identified the Dead Sea in geographic proximity to the ancient Biblical city of [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]]. However, he referred to the lake by its Greek name, Asphaltites.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-1.htm|author=Josephus|title=Antiquities of the Jews|volume=1|chapter=9|title-link=Antiquities of the Jews|access-date=2012-02-18|archive-date=2020-11-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111185534/https://sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/ant-1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Various sects of Jews settled in caves overlooking the Dead Sea. The best known of these are the [[Essenes]] of [[Qumran]], who left an extensive library known as the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]].<ref>Found today in the [[Shrine of the Book]] at the Israel Museum of Jerusalem</ref> The town of [[Ein Gedi]], mentioned many times in the [[Mishna]], produced [[persimmon]] for the temple's fragrance and for export, using a secret recipe. "Sodomite salt" was an essential mineral for the temple's holy incense, but was said to be dangerous for home use and could cause blindness.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pardes.org.il/online_learning/weekly-talmud/2009-02-12.php |title=World of Our Sages: Salty Hands |first1=Levi |last1=Cooper |date=February 12, 2009  |website=Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815040437/http://www.pardes.org.il/online_learning/weekly-talmud/2009-02-12.php |archive-date=2009-08-15 }}</ref> The Roman camps surrounding [[Masada]] were built by Jewish slaves receiving water from the towns around the lake. These towns had drinking water from the [[Ein Feshcha]] springs and other sweetwater springs in the vicinity.<ref>A synagogue mosaic floor (circa 100 BCE) at Ein Gedi repeats the Mishna, portraying a curse on whoever reveals the town's secret persimmon recipe. Papyrus parchments found in caves near the Dead Sea document the vast amount of cultivated land in the area, especially persimmon trees, but also olive and date trees</ref>