Masada: From Jewish Revolt to Modern Myth

Abstract

investments and construction efforts by the Hasmonean rulers and King Herod in Jericho, Masada, Machaerus and Callirrhoe. Finally, in the Byzantine era, the religious significance of the region grew and dozens of monasteries were built in its vicinity. Itamar Taxel’s detailed and nuanced discussion of the Byzantine–Early Islamic transition is particularly illuminating (although he does not have much to say about the possible impact of a shift in climate). Frank H. Neumann and Wolfgang Zwickel as well as Eva Kaptijn provide useful maps that help the reader trace the rising and falling number of settlements near the lake at various points in time. The volume’s chapters vary in length and depth. Alongside thematic chapters on water management, agrarian resources, textiles and references to the Dead Sea in the Bible there are important contributions on specific sites, including some by archaeologists who have been excavating in the area for several years: Gideon Hadas on Ein Gedi, Lorenzo Nigro on Jericho, Konstantinos D. Politis on Ghor es-Safi and Győző Vörös on Machaerus. Inevitably, there are a number of shortcomings as well. While informative and insightful, the introductory essay by Martin Peilstöcker and Sabine Wolfram is dedicated to the exhibition at Chemnitz rather than outlining and framing the content of the volume. Contributors were clearly tasked with approaching the subject matter from different perspectives, but there is a degree of overlap between the essays. The order of the chapters could have been more systematic. For instance, it would have been better to cluster together Katharina Galor’s essay on gender at Qumran, Marcello Fidanzio’s contribution on Qumran cave 11Q and Jean-Baptiste Humbert’s interesting hypothesis about a Hasmonean ‘axis’ that connected Jerusalem, Hyrcanion, Qumran, Callirrhoe andMachaerus (in the volume these are separated by several other chapters). Finally, with many of the essays written by archaeologists, the volume privileges sedentary material culture. Less archaeologically visible nomadic groups such as the Late Bronze Age ‘Shasu’ or the saraceni of the late Roman and early Byzantine era are mentioned only briefly. Setting these issues aside, this volume marks a very important contribution to our understanding of the history of life at the Dead Sea. Supported by several maps, images and illustrations, it presents an up-to-date picture of the interdisciplinary study of this region’s past.