Massada Under Siege

Roman Army Camp at Massada

Looking down from the top of Massada you can still see where the Roman Army camped for three years while trying to take the last hold out of the Jews. There were three of these camps and you can just imagine the thoughts in the defenders minds as they looked down at that scene.

On the other side consider the Romans baking in that Summer heat down on the floor of that camp. For three years they dealt with hot wilderness conditions trying to take a fortress that seemed impossible. But nothing was impossible for that army and take it they did.

Herod Built A Palace

At Ceasrea we toured the ruins of King Herod's palace there. 

He had them all over Israel. This one was fancy with almost modern plumbing - running water - baths - toilet that flushed down a sewer line and into the sea.

Did Jesus Walk Here?

What you see in this picture is an excavated street in ancient Jerusalem just below the south wall of the temple mount. It was still being excavated when I took this picture.

When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD it was covered over with dirt so the actual streets that Jesus walked on are underground. 

This very narrow street between two rows of homes and led up to three great doors into the Temple. This street and the Western Wall may be the only streets where the public can see where Jesus actually walked.

Roman Theater in Caesarea

This Roman theater in Caesarea was built by King Herod the Great before Jesus was born and it is still in use. It was awesome to sit there and think of all the people who have sat in those stone seats for the past two thousand years. The day we were there a rock band was scheduled to preform there that night.

Pranks

Proof that you can't ever underestimate the creativeness of American boys for mischief.

When considering all the brilliant, devious minds we had in high school,  I don't know how we missed doing this.

At a high school in Montana , a group of students played a prank.

 

They let three goats loose inside the school.  But before turning them loose, they painted numbers on the sides of the goats:  1, 2, and 4.

School Administrators spent the rest of the day looking for No. 3

Scarab Seals found in Ashkelon

Here is a display of Scarab Seals found during the dig in 1999. In this picture the seals are mounted on glass above the mirror so observers can see both the top and the bottom at once.

The Egyptians invented the Scarab seals and used them to impress their seal on documents and clay seals for locking boxes and doors. Some of these seals are egyptian and some are Canaanite. Egypt often conquered Ashkelon and then the Canaanites there copied the ways of the Egyptians.

As the Scarab was considered sacred its image was used on the top of the seal and the owners cartouche was the seal on the bottom.   They looked like the cartouche of my name on the banner of this blog.

The Ceasarea Aqueduct

King Herod the Great built this aqueduct and two others to supply water to Ceasarea. 

He built Ceasarea as a place for the Romans to live in Israel.