Herodiyon from the Jerusalem-Bethlehem road at Mar Elias.
Herodiyon (הרודיון) or Herodium, known in Arabic as Jabal Fureidis or Jabal al-Fourdis – probably a corruption of Herodis, the original name, by which it is called in the Bar Kokhba letters recovered from the Muraba’at Caves in the Judaean desert – is a truncated cone-shaped hill, located 12 kilometres south of Jerusalem and 5 kilometres southeast of Bethlehem, in the Judaean Desert. According to Josephus, Herod won a victory over his Hasmonean and Parthian enemies at that spot in 40 BCE (The Antiquities of the Jews (Antiquities) XIV, 352-360) and “built a town on that spot in commemoration of his victory, and enhanced it with wonderful palaces... and he called it Herodiyon after himself” (The Wars of the Jews I (Wars I), Chapter 13).
Herodiyon comprised a fortress and a palace on the hill, with a breathtaking view of the Judaean Desert and the mountains of Moab to the east and the Judaean Hills to the west, and, in the plain to the north below the hill, an administrative centre for the region (today referred to as Lower Herodiyon), which had not been previously settled. Later he had a royal tomb built for himself on the hillside, when the artificial extension of the hill to its current conical shape was made; Josephus describes the king's funeral procession and burial at Herodiyon (War I, 33, 8; Antiquities XVII, 196-199) in 4 BCE.
Model of a reconstructed Herodiyon, from the north, with Lower Herodium in the foreground, at the time after Herod's tomb was completed.
Herodium is described in great detail by Josephus (Antiquities XIV, 323-325; War I, 31, 10):
“This fortress, which is some sixty stadia distant from Jerusalem, is naturally strong and very suitable for such a structure, for reasonably nearby is a hill, raised to a (greater) height by the hand of man and rounded off in the shape of a breast. At intervals it has round towers, and it has a steep ascent formed of two hundred steps of hewn stone. Within it are costly royal apartments made for security and for ornament at the same time. At the base of the hill there are pleasure grounds built in such a way as to be worth seeing, among other things because of the way in which water, which is lacking in that place, is brought in from a distance and at great expense. The surrounding plain was built up as a city second to none, with the hill serving as an acropolis for the other dwellings.”
Aerial view of Herodiyon from the south. [Source: Wikipedia, Public Domain]
The site was identified in the 19th century and remains of the palace-fortress on the hilltop have been excavated by several expeditions since the early 1960s. Excavation of Lower Herodiyon has been conducted since 1972. The lead archaeologist, on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was Ehud Netzer, whose experience and knowledge of Herodiyon was unique. In 2007 he unearthed Herod’s tomb at a flattened site halfway up the hill. In 2009–2010 excavations uncovered near the tomb base a small 450-seat capacity theatre with an elaborately decorated royal theatre box. Sadly Netzer died in a fall at the site in 2010, and much of the work has stopped since then, though there is much of the palace left to unearth.
As stated, Herodiyon was built in two separate areas, each with a distinct function: a circular fortress, including an elaborate palace, surrounded by a wall with towers, constructed on top of a hill which rises 60 metres above its surroundings; and Lower Herodiyon, in the plain to the north, with a group of royal buildings around a large pool.
The combination of fortress and palace is a uniquely Herodian innovation, which he repeated on several other sites, including Masada. The fortifications consist of two concentric walls with a 2.5 metre space between them. The diameter of the circle formed by the outer walls is 62 metres. The fortification was originally about 30 metres high, comprising seven storeys, two of which were underground, with barrel-vaulted ceilings. The remaining five storeys reached considerably higher than the palace courtyard, and were used for storage and as quarters for soldiers and servants. Four huge, regularly spaced towers projected from the walls. The eastern tower – the largest – was a round tower 18 metres in diameter on a solid masonry base, with several upper storeys with elaborate rooms, probably for the use of the royal entourage. This tower rose above the entire fortress, commanding a 360-degree panoramic view.
Partially cut-away model of reconstructed Herodiyon.
Interior palace courtyard, with the large north tower on the left.
The other three towers were semi-circular, 16 metres in diameter, their upper stories serving as storage spaces and living areas. After the later construction of Herod’s tomb, which was completed shortly before his death, the palace-fortress was transformed into the artificial cone-shaped hill we see today, with an earth rampart of considerable height being laid against the outer foundations of the fortification, submerging many of the structures on the slope such as the theatre and store houses. The entry-gate to the fortress, in the northeast, was reached via a straight, steep staircase within a corridor built into the earthen rampart.
Looking down from the summit at the excavated "gash" at location of monumental stairway, the original entrance to the palace.
Herod had cisterns excavated beneath the fortress, which filled with rainwater channelled from above. In addition, three very large cisterns were cut into the slope outside the fortress (near the entrance to the staircase) and rainwater was channelled into them also from the hillside. Water was drawn from these cisterns by servants, who carried it to the uppermost cistern on the top of the hill.
The largest and most central of the three cisterns, with the southern part stilled filled in from the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt. The northern part (against which Yonatan stands) has been excavated. The horizontal lines are water marks.
The largest and most central of the three cisterns, with the southern part stilled filled in from the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt. This is the northern part which has been excavated. The horizontal lines are water marks. The large stones on the floor came from Herod's tomb.
Water shaft, through which water was raised in vessels by rope to the palace courtyard.
Herod's private palace, of modest dimensions, stood within the fortification. It was splendidly appointed, with floors of coloured tiles, mosaics and frescoes. In the eastern part of the palace was a garden inside an atrium (41 x 18 metres), with Corinthian porticos on three sides. The western portion of the palace had two storeys. The ground floor included a hall (triclinium), with a roof supported by four columns, to which stone benches were added on three of its sides by Jewish fighters during the Jewish Revolt against Rome of 66-70 CE, when they converted it into a synagogue.
In Herod's time this was a grand reception hall for dining and gathering, surrounded by columns and paved with designs in stone, the walls with frescoes. During both Jewish revolts, the hall served as a synagogue, the rebels building benches around the walls and installing six new columns to support a lightweight roof which replaced the original splendid one.
There was also a small Roman-style bath house, featuring a large hot room with a semi-circular niche and three bath tubs, a circular tepid room with a domed ceiling (the earliest still standing in Israel), and a triangular cold room with a stepped pool that apparently also served as a mikva. Of two additional rooms, one was a dressing room.
A Roman-style bath house graced each of Herod's palaces. This one features a large hot room with a semi-circular niche and three bath tubs, a circular tepid room with a domed ceiling (the earliest still standing in Israel, pictured above with Yonatan photographing its oculus), and a triangular cold room (pictured below) with a stepped pool that apparently also served as a mikva. Of two additional rooms, one was a dressing room.
On the northern slope of the hill, underneath the artificial earth cone ramparts, a small theatre about 32 metres in diameter, and seating 400, was unearthed in 2009-10. At the top, with a view of Jerusalem, was a private box for the royal entourage, decorated by artists brought from abroad: trompe l’oeuil frescoes of windows framing landscapes, buildings and animals were found, along with stucco work. Sadly this was inaccessible when we visited, due to ongoing archaeological work.
East of the theatre Herod’s tomb was finally unearthed in 2007. Facing Jerusalem, and on a base 10 metres square, it rose to a height of 25 metres, having three storeys. The first storey was square, surmounted by a colonnaded drum and a conical roof. Almost all the masonry was recovered, so that the exact nature of the structure is known. The remains of three sarcophagi were found nearby: a reddish one carved with rosettes is assumed to be Herod’s; the other two, of white stone, were likely relatives. Though not on permanent exhibit currently, the sarcophagi and masonry have been the subject of an exhibition at the Israel Museum.
The south east corner of the base of Herod's tomb (above), and the corresponding south east corner of the model of the same (below), the black line showing the extent of the masonry remaining in situ.
Model reconstruction of Herod's tomb deduced from masonry found at the site.
Masonry from Herod's tomb.
Lower Herodiyon covered an area of some 38 acres and was well planned, the buildings and gardens placed on a north-south axis. The buildings were constructed around a large pool (70 x 46 metres and 3 metres deep), which was filled by water from an aqueduct specially built to carry water from the springs at Artas near Solomon's pools to the west. The pool was plastered to prevent seepage and used as the main reservoir of Herodium, as well as for swimming. The foundations of a round building (15 metres in diameter) were found in the centre of the pool and are visible today. It once had a roof supported by a row of columns and was probably a pavilion for relaxation and entertaining. The pool was surrounded by extensive, well-tended gardens. Six metre-wide Ionic porticos surrounded the gardens on three sides, to a length of about 250 metres. Halls, each measuring 110 x 10 metres, ran along the eastern and the western sides of the pool. The eastern hall was built on a wide and extremely high terrace. An octagonal room at the centre of the western hall had walls decorated with pilasters and frescos and is assumed to have been a reception hall or throne room.
Lower Herodiyon from Herodiyon. In the centre is the large pool with the foundations of its central circular pavilion.
The pool complex was surrounded by buildings of various functions: storage areas and servants quarters to the north; a warehouse to the north west in which fragments of dozens of ceramic storage jars were found; and a large bath house to the south west. This bath house probably served the royal entourage and guests, and comprised a caldarium (hot room) heated by a hypocaust plus other pools and rooms. The bathhouse walls were decorated with painted square patterns and in imitation marble. The floors were paved with coloured mosaics in geometric and floral patterns, as well as with pomegranates, grapevines and grape clusters.
South of the pool, at the western edge of a level, man-made area measuring 350 x 30 metres, was a building dubbed by excavators the “monumental building.” This comprised an elaborate square hall (12 x 9 metres, and preserved to a height of 7 metres), open on the side facing the level area. The particularly thick walls of the hall are built of well-cut ashlars, with niches between pilasters. Architectural elements, with decorations characteristic of elaborate burial monuments in Jerusalem, and the ritual bath found here, have prompted the suggestion that the building was part of King Herod's mausoleum. The room described could have served as a triclinium for ceremonies in memory of the king. The man-made level area in front of the building perhaps served as a plaza for the royal funeral procession described by Josephus (War I, 33, 9). For many years excavators were disappointed not to find Herod’s tomb, but suspected it was hidden nearby, deep in the slopes of the fortress, as indeed turned out to be the case.
Herodiyon, together with Machaerus (in today's Kingdom of Jordan) and Masada, were the last three fortresses held by Jewish fighters after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, at the time of the Great Revolt (66-71 CE). Inside the mountain is a tunnel system which originally related to cisterns from Herod's time, as described above, but at the time of the two Jewish revolts, more tunnels were added. At the time of the Great Revolt, the rebels constructed a tunnel to bring water from the lower to the upper cisterns unseen by the Romans. According to Josephus, they also razed the hated Herod’s tomb and smashed the sarcophagi which were later found near the tomb. Herodiyon was finally conquered and destroyed by the Romans in 71 CE (War VII, 6, 1).
Cuttaway plan of Herodiyon showing tunnels and cisterns. [Source: Ehud Netzer (1988), Jewish Rebels Dig Strategic Tunnel System, Biblical Archaeology Review]
At the beginning of the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132-136 CE), sixty years later, Simon bar Kokhba declared Herodiyon as his secondary headquarters. Archaeological evidence for the revolt was found all over the site, from the outside buildings to the water system under the mountain. A many-branched tunnel system was constructed by the rebels as an attack base. Camouflaged sortie points enabled the defenders to control the summit and slopes, taking advantage of height and surprise and fleeing when necessary. The spoil was dumped into the cisterns, keeping construction secret from the Romans. Inside the water system, supporting walls built by the rebels were discovered and, in one of the tunnels, burned wood was found which was dated to the time of the revolt.
Retaining walls from the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt found in the tunnels dug beneath the mound.
During the Byzantine period, a small chapel was built in one of the wings of the palace courtyard, and remains of monastic cells have been found throughout the complex. However thereafter the site was abandoned and became ruined until it was excavated from the 1960s. Today it is well worth a visit, as it continues to reveal its history from the times of its barbaric founder onwards!