Masada - The Commandant’s Headquarters

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A historical marker at the site reads:

“Visitors to Masada in ancient times reached the summit just as we do today, from the east. After climbing to Masada up the Snake Path, they too made their way to the southeastern entrance of the Northern Palace. Here they reached a planned compound, containing two buildings with an entrance square between them. The rooms of the buildings were richly decorated, some with wall paintings.

The excavators, wondering about the purpose of these rooms, concluded that this was the main entrance square to the storerooms and the Northern Palace, containing the headquarters of the commandant of Masada.

Click on photo to enlarge it [View of the storehouse from Commandant's Headquarters]

When standing at the entrance to the “commandant’s headquarters”, we realize that from this point one could control the traffic of visitors to the palace and oversee the unloading of goods at the entrance to the storerooms.”