Herod’s bath in the desert
Was the water supply at Masada derived from an artesian well or was it transported there by slaves?
The ancient fortification of Masada stands on an isolated rock plateau on the eastern edge of the Judaean desert, overlooking the Dead Sea, 15 miles east of Arad. It was the refuge of the last survivors of the Jewish revolt of AD73/74 who chose death rather than slavery when their Roman besiegers broke their defences.
According to Romano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Masada was first fortified by Alexander Jannaeus, one of the hasmonean (Maccabee) kings, in the first century BC. herod ‘The Great’ (74/73 BC to 4BC), a Roman client-king, then greatly expanded it.
he was known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his expansion of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, the port at Caesarea Maritima and fortresses at Masada, herodium, Alexandrium, hyrcania and Machaerus.
each building contained significant technological innovations, one of which was the water supply at Masada, where an ingenious system was designed to make the fortress practical in an arid desert climate.
herod had 12 cisterns dug out of the stone on the north-western slope at the base of the mountain. These were plastered, so water wasn’t absorbed into the rock. They held 40,000 cubic metres.
The winter rains on Masada were insufficient to fill these great cisterns, but five times that amount of rainfall fell on the peaks of the Judean mountains that run from Jerusalem to hebron.
To the west of Masada a gorge was transformed into a dam to catch the flood water, and this was diverted through aqueducts, using gravity to bring it to the cisterns on Masada’s western side. The 12 cisterns were positioned so that when one filled up, it would overflow into the next.
Water was transferred up to cisterns on the top of the stronghold by donkeys and slaves. herod had a secret staircase and wall constructed so enemy spies couldn’t see the water carriers as they fetched the water from below. As well as preserving the water supply in times of siege, they were intended to supply the king’s swimming pools and baths. Beth Lewis, Manchester. Under the Soviet regime, the Russian people used humour to express their desire for freedom and reform. What were some of these jokes?
Why do the Russian police always travel about in groups of three?
One can read and one can write, and the other one is there to keep an eye on the two dangerous intellectuals.
John Beksa, Chesterfield, Derbys. AS A YOUNG police officer in the Seventies, I was talking to the captain of a Russian ship berthed in the local docks. he spoke excellent english and was happy to respond to my questions about everyday life in the Soviet union.
he told me: a Scotsman’s idea of happiness would be to sit by a beautiful loch, in the gloaming, sipping a fine single malt. An englishman’s idea of happiness is to sit in his rose garden, with birds singing, sipping a fine wine.
A Russian’s idea of happiness is, having been awoken at 3am by a banging on the door of his Moscow flat and finding himself confronted by two KGB officers who ask ‘Does Ivan Ivanovich live here?’, being able to reply truthfully: ‘no, he lives next door.’
Mick Herron, Goole, E. Yorks. On A TOUR of Russia 12 years ago, my wife and I were told some of these jokes.
My favourite involved Stalin being told there was unrest in the country and his image among the people needed drastic improvement. One suggestion was to put a smiling image of him on postage stamps. Stalin thought it a good idea, as each time someone posted or received a letter, they would see him smiling at them and the people would be happy.
Some time later, Stalin inquired if there had been any effect on public morale.
he was told there had been a major problem in that people were receiving letters with no stamps on, as they had fallen off during transit.
Stalin was furious at the sub-standard quality of Soviet-manufactured glue — but he was told it was not due to badly made glue. It was because the senders were all ‘spitting on the wrong side of the stamps!’
Lyn Pask, Blackwood, Gwent.
STALIN decides he wants a new limousine so he phones the Zil limousine factory. ‘hello, Comrade Stalin here. I want a new Zil as soon as possible.’
‘Certainly, Comrade General Secretary, no problem. But there is a queue. We’ll deliver it in ten years’.
‘OK,’ says Stalin. ‘But can you make it an afternoon delivery? The washing machine man is coming in the morning’.
J. O’ Donoghue, Ashbourne, Derbys. WHILE travelling in Russia, a delightful old lady told us this one. A man passes a news vendor every day. he stops, looks at the paper, sighs and moves on. eventually the news vendor says: ‘My friend, why don’t you ever buy a paper?’
The man says: ‘I’m only interested in the obituaries.’ ‘But, my friend, the obituaries aren’t on the front page’.
The man replies: ‘The one I’m waiting for will be!’ Brian Butt, Dereham, Norfolk. Further to the question about Norbert Dentressangle lorries, what is the origin of the name Norbert?
Are there any other famous Norberts? FURTHER to the earlier answer, there’s a singer called norbert Rier, vocalist with seven- man folk pop group the Kastelruther Spatzens ( The Kastelruth Sparrows).
They are huge in Kastelruth, a town in South Tyrol, in northern Italy, and its German- speaking areas, and norbert Rier is locally as famous as elvis Presley.
David Johnson, Wimborne, Dorset.
IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT; fax them to 01952 780111 or email them to charles.legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection will be published but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.