Herodium or Herodion (הרודיון, هيروديون, Jabal al-Fraidees) is a hill shaped like a truncated cone (758 m / 2,487 ft above sea level), south of Bethlehem, within the Bethlehem Governorate, built as a fortress palace by King Herod the Great. It was known by the Crusaders as the "Mountain of Franks", but local Arab inhabitants call it Jabal al-Fourdis or "Mountain of Paradise".

This is the quote of the Roman-era Jewish historian Josephus with respect to the fortress:

Herodium was conquered and destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 71, when Lucilius Bassus and his X Fretensis were on their way to Masada.

At the beginning of the Bar Kokhba revolt, Simon bar Kokhba declared Herodium as his secondary headquarters. Archeological evidences for the revolt were dispersed all over the site, from the outside buildings to the water system under the mountain. Inside the water system, supporting walls (which were built by the rebels) were discovered, and another system of caves was found. Inside one of those caves, the Field School of Kfar Etzion members discovered a burned wood which, afterwards, they dated to Bar Kokhba revolt time. The burned wood is still, after more than 1800 years inside the cave, waiting for the visitors.

Following the writings of Josephus, Hebrew University Professor Ehud Netzer reported on May 8, 2007, that he discovered Herod's gravesite atop of tunnels and water pools, at a flattened desert site, halfway up the hill to Herodium, south of Jerusalem - the precise location given by Josephus.

The base of the tomb has now been uncovered and is visible to visitors to the site.

Notes

External links

• Google Maps satellite view
• Herodion by Jacqueline Schaalje (April 2006 edition of the Jewish Magazine)
• Geophysical Exploration in Israel: The 1983 Field Season, by Lambert Dolphin)
• Photos from Herodion by David Rabkin