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This aerial photograph, looking southeast, shows the mountaintop fortress of Masada, located in the Judaean Desert, which rises 400 feet above the Dead Sea. King Herod (37-4 BCE) built two palaces on top, and the Northern Palace is visible here. Note the series of three rooms that descend from the top of the mountain and are built as if hanging on the cliffs. Masada was abandoned after his death, but rebels who escaped the Roman Army's attack on Jerusalem in 70 CE fled here and were later besieged. On the lower right side of the photo there is what looks like a sandy slope leading almost to the top of the mountain. This is the siege ramp that the Roman Army built over the course of two years (71-73 CE), with which they were finally able to take the fortress.