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This aerial photograph shows the archaeological remains of Herod's palace at Jericho, which is located in the Judaean Desert, on the bank of Wadi Qelt, near the northern tip of the dead Sea. He likely chose it because it is in the Judaean Desert, so is warm in the winter time, and because the Hasmonaean kings had already built palaces and an infrastructure of water channels for bath houses and spas. Herod constructed a royal villa complete with royal gardens and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. This photograph shows only the main building of the palace complex. On the left is a reception hall that was paved with marble and colored stone (a recent discovery in this period). Next to it is an open courtyard with columns on 3 sides and an apse at the back. Along the back of the building on the right side are five rooms that belonged to an elaborate bath that had been constructed in the best Roman style.