Herod's Palace (Herodium)

Herod's Palace
Lobby of Herod's northern palace
General information
Type	Palace
Location	Herodium, West Bank
Coordinates	31°39′57″N 35°14′29″E / 31.66583°N 35.24139°E / 31.66583; 35.24139Coordinates: 31°39′57″N 35°14′29″E / 31.66583°N 35.24139°E / 31.66583; 35.24139
Opened	23-15 BCE
Owner	Herod the Great

Herod the Great built a palace within the fortress of Herodium, about 12 kilometers south of Jerusalem. Herod himself commissioned a lavish palace to be built between 23 and 15 BCE atop Herodium for all to see. The palace itself consisted of four towers of seven stories, a bathhouse, courtyards, a Roman theatre, banquet rooms, a large walkway (“the course”), as well as extravagant living quarters for himself and guests. Once Herod died and the Great Revolt started, Herodium was abandoned. The Jews eventually had a base at Herodium where they built a synagogue which can still be seen today, unlike much of Herod’s Palace.

Archaeologists believe that the palace was built by slaves, paid workers (contractors), and architects. Herod was considered one of the greatest builders of his time, and geography did not daunt him — his palace was built on the edge of the desert and was situated atop an artificial hill. The largest of the four towers was built on a stone base 18 meters in diameter. This was most likely where Herod lived; he decorated his rooms with mosaic floors and elaborate frescoes. The other three towers, which consisted of living spaces and storage, were 16 meters in diameter. Outside, several cisterns were built to collect water that was channeled into the palace.

Excavation began in 1972 and was intermittent until Ehud Netzer's, the lead archaeologist, death in 2010. Netzer worked at Herodium on behalf of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Although there is much of the palace left to unearth, Netzer was the premier historian and had the most experience and knowledge of Herodium, so construction stopped in late 2010. Many archaeologists suspect that mosaic floors and frescoes were common throughout the palace, but it will take more work to reveal them because of the thousands of years that have passed since its construction.

Bathhouse

The Roman bathhouse consisted of three areas, the caldarium, the tepidarium, and the frigidarium. It also had a very impressive dome which is still in good condition today despite thousands of years of earthquakes and wars. The caldarium had vaulted ceilings, raised floors, and channels in the walls to conduct heat. The tepidarium had mosaic floors and frescoes just like the living quarters of the palace. The frigidarium, the last stop in the bathhouse, was where guests would cool off in a large pool.