A new dig at Masada

EXCAVATION: Archaeologists get set to dig at Masada, after 11-year hiatus. Tel Aviv University Team will excavate rebel dwellings, Herod’s gardens in month-long expedition at UNESCO heritage site (Ilan Ben Zion, Times of Israel).

For the first time in over a decade, archaeologists are commencing new excavations atop Masada, studying previously untouched areas of the legendary desert mountain fortress, including the residences of Jewish rebels who met their doom in 74 CE.

A Tel Aviv University team, headed by Roman-period archaeologist Guy Stiebel, will conduct a month-long excavation at the UNESCO World Heritage Site starting on February 5. It will be the university’s first expedition at the site, and the first expedition overall there since 2006.

[...]

They start digging today. I hope they find lots of nice things, including more scrolls.

I noted the plan to return to Masada back in November. There are a great many past PaleoJudaica posts on Masada, its archaeology, the story of its fall to the Romans, and the various artistic and other endeavors it has inspired. Check the blog search engine for a full listing, but you can find a number of posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and links