Description
Machaerus was one of the desert fortresses built by Herod the Great. Located on a steep hilltop, it has a dramatic view of the Dead Sea.
The Hasmonean ruler Alexander Jannaeus (103-67 B.C.) had built a fortress there, but that was destroyed by the Romans in 63 B.C. Herod the Great later rebuilt this fortress, which was destroyed again in 71 A.D., two years before Masada.
Here we see the Roman siege ramp that was being prepared to capture Machaerus. The besieged, however, surrendered, and so the ramp was not completed.