Masada is an ancient fortification in southern Israel, situated on top of an isolated rock plateau. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea.

Herod the Great built two palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BC.

According to Josephus, the siege of Masada by Roman troops from 72 to 73 AD, at the end of the First Jewish–Roman War, ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Sicarii rebels who were hiding there. However, the archaeological evidence relevant to a mass suicide event is ambiguous at best and rejected entirely by some scholars.

Masada is one of Israel's most popular tourist destinations and attracts around 750,000 visitors a year.

A bit of the Dead Sea, posted earlier: