Masada Fortress (Israel)
On a steep ledge of the northern slope three-storey royal palace was set. The upper floor on the tip of the rock separated from the rest of the fortress by a wall with one single narrow corridor is a big semi-circular balcony; a four-room facility in its southern section — two rooms on each side — served, most likely, as the king’s private chambers. Black-and-white mosaic floor of the chambers with geometrical patterns is one of the earliest mosaics discovered on the territory of Eretz-Israel. Walls and ceilings were adorned with murals. Along the façade of the balcony, most likely, there was a row of columns. The middle floor of the palace was a terrace (20 meters below the upper floor) with two concentric walls serving as base for the colonnade of the upper floor; in the eastern part there was a big room with walls decorated with murals and an enclosed colonnade. The lower terrace (15 meters below the middle floor) is an uplifted square platform, surrounded by a low wall, which served as base for the colonnade; the wall was partially covered by a mural imitating a marble panel. In the eastern section of the terrace there was a little sauna in roman style. Two lower floors of the palace, most likely, served as a place for rest. In addition to the western palace-villa, Herod built official residency in the western part of the fortress. The building, which occupied an area of 4,000 sq m, included dozens of facilities. In the south-eastern part of the building there were royal chambers located along the perimeter of the rectangular inner yard, among which there was a big hall for receptions with a splendid mosaic floor, joined to the throne hall, auxiliary facilities, saunas with baths and a cold water swimming pool decorated with mosaics. In the north-eastern section of the building there were workshops, in the south-western – storage rooms, in the north-western – auxiliary facilities. Three richly decorated little palaces located nearby belonged, most likely, to members of Herod’s family. Near one of these palaces there was a big swimming pool with wide plastered steps. South of the northern palace there was a big bathhouse in Roman style with four rooms and a yard, resembling similar constructions in Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as in other Herod’s palaces – in Jericho and Herodion. The bathhouse was richly decorated with mosaics and murals. East and south of the bathhouse there were storage places consisting of long narrow halls (11 rooms) built of big stone slabs.