not all in circulation at the same point in time, we would not expect to find them depos-
ited together in the same archaeological context.^751
The Archaeology of the Masada Scrolls
Masada is situated towards the south end of the western shore of the Dead Sea. The iso-
lated plateau on which the fortress was built rises almost half a kilometre above the sur-
rounding plain. Some of the buildings in the Western Palace appear to have been con-
structed in the Hasmonean period, however the majority of the construction, including its
impressive three tiered Northern Palace, is attributed to Herod’s reign.^752 There were also
subsequent, though smaller, building phases at Masada under the Roman procurators and
during the First Jewish Revolt. The fortress was, of course, the site of the last stand of the
Sicarii, famously documented by Josephus.^753
opinion on some points. The palaeographical sequencing established by F. M. Cross, while gaining general
acceptance, has not escaped criticism (e.g. G. Doudna, "Radiocarbon Analysis," 464; R. Eisenman and M.
Wise, Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered [New York: Penguin Books, 1992] 12-13). On the other hand, uncritical
application of Cross’s sequencing has lead to some questionable outcomes. Scholars often “limit their dis-
cussion of the date of a document to identifying a line on one of Cross’s charts to which the script of their
scroll bears a similarity. Cross’s date for the exemplar is then adopted as the date of the text being pub-
lished” (B. Webster, "Chronological Index," 354). 751
Attention should be drawn to the possible exception of Cave 1. Recently G. Brooke has made the obser-
vation that “it seems as if the Scrolls that were found in Cave 1 had been placed there because these were
the Scrolls that were most damaged in antiquity, just as being the case, through the centuries damaged texts
are much respected and are buried as in the genizas. So it seems that it's possible to understand Cave 1 as
such a geniza from antiquity,” (G.J. Brooke, interview by Rachael Kohn, The Spirit of Things, ABC Radio
National, 20 May, 2007). 752
See E. Netzer, Masada III. The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963 - 1965. Final Reports (Jerusalem: Israel
Exploration Society, 1991) 615, 646-49, and G. Stiebel, "Masada," Encyclopaedia Judaica (vol. 13; 2007^2 )
595.The two references by Josephus to the beginnings of the fortification of Masada do not specifically
identify its founders (see J.W. 4.399 and J.W. 7.285), but do allow the view that the site was first developed
between the middle of the second century B.C.E. and early first century B.C.E., either by Jonathan the
brother of Judah Maccabee, or by Alexander Yannai. 753
J.W. 7.275-406.