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Masada by Amnon Ben-Tor Masada, the Human Remains: An Anthropologicali Critique Masada, known throughout the western world for the suicide narrative described by Josephus and later excavations by Professor Yigal Yadin,1 is not without controversy. Outside the academic world, few are aware of the controversy surrounding Masada; however, scholars have long questioned the veracity of the narrative and its interpretation by Yadin. Unfortunately, few scholars have subjected the narrative to rigorous anthropological research, the basis upon which the final Masada drama rests. Professor Amnon Ben-Tor, who excavated Masada, has attempted to summarize the archaeological along with the anthropological findings for a wider public audience. However honest his attempt, the anthropological findings strongly suggest that nearly all, if not all of the human remains found to date, are ethnically non-Jewish. By Joe Zias Science and Antiquity Jerusalem, Israel July 2019 Back to Masada, the recent publication by Amnon Ben-Tor, is a Hebrew and English translation of a volume about Yadin’s excavations atop Masada: an essential contribution to the archaeology of the region (Ben-Tor 2009).ii Even though Yadin never published the finalized scientific report of the excavation, the final publication, eight volumes to date and published in large part by his colleagues and those who actively participated in the excavations (1963-65), constitutes the basis for Ben-Tor’s summary. The monograph is thus crucial for both the layperson and scholar alike. Ben-Tor, who along with the late N. Avigad and Joseph Aviram, is a trustee of Yadin’s extensive literary legacy and an important source for those three years. He, as a young student of archaeology, participated in the excavations and wrote: “… were the best years of my life” (2009, 1). In the foreword, Ben-Tor cites eleven scholars whom he turned to while writing the monograph for scholarly review and necessary corrections, rare and commendable in today’s world of archaeological research. Unfortunately, Ben-Tor never consulted with any 1 Professor Yadin’s first name appears at times, both as Yagal, Yigeal, and Yigal. I prefer the latter spelling. 1 physical anthropologist over the question of the human skeletal remains recovered atop Masada: one of the most important and controversial questions as to what happened in the final years 73/74 CE.2 Moreover, Ben-Tor refers to the fact that his anthropological research is primarily based on the final reports of Zias and cites only two since he did not read the other three publications where valuable information was reported and updated accordingly with new findings. (see references) However honest his attempt to reconcile the final suicide of the Zealots as related by Josephus with Yadin’s interpretation, his work is riddled with errors because he failed to consult with physical anthropologists. It is clear from the outset that Ben-Tor, a student of Yadin, attempted to validate Yadin’s interpretation of Masada (1966) which has come under criticism over the years by others and me (Ben-Yehuda 2002; Cohen 1982; Zias 1998, 2007). Somewhat earlier, even I had succumbed to such an error (1994). I believed Yadin’s interpretation of the human skeletal remains, despite his admission3 that pig remains were found in locus 2001-2002, was fundamentally correct. I only retracted this idea later in 1998. On page 299 of the monograph, Ben-Tor writes: “As noted, human remains were found in two places on Masada”; human remains were recovered from three or more various places atop Masada, locus 2001-2, 2005, including a cremation near the western ramp and the 2 In the 1960s, colleagues suggested to Yadin that each and every student receiving a BA from the Hebrew University have at least one course in physical anthropology as human skeletal remains were being uncovered at an unprecedented rate following the 1967 war. Unfortunately, Yadin did not agree to this proposal, and as a result, archaeologists have failed in many instances to understand the basic and fundamental rules of burial archaeology. Even today, noted scholars have been unable to differentiate between Bedouin burials and those which are earlier and non-Bedouin. The Qumran cemetery is one glaring example. As a result, Qumran studies were on the wrong track for nearly fifty years, believing that the women and children in the Qumran cemetery were from the time of the Essenes. 3 While physical anthropologists were aware for nearly two decades that pig bones were found in locus 2001-2, it was not until 1982 when Yadin, confronted by a journalist about the rumor, admitted to the fact (Benny Morris 1982). bathhouse in the Northern Palace. This omission is somewhat surprising and important in the overall picture of Masada since Ben-Tor himself was physically present during the three-year span over which the excavations occurred. Burial caves in which human skeletal remains were found. Photo: BiblePlaces.com Yadin’s attempts to understand the anthropological findings were undermined because the physical anthropologist involved in the excavation had long suffered from an unfortunate illness that led to somewhat inaccurate conclusions. For example, the age of the fetus found in locus 2001-2 was reported as being six to seven months old. However, after his accident, the remains of the fetus were discovered in the Hadassah medical school laboratory (Fig.1-2). It was clear he had misdated the fetus by two or more months.4 Whereas this heretofore 4 Following Professor Haas’ untimely accident from which he never fully recovered, I was asked to help clear out his office in the Hadassah medical school to determine if any material found there belonged to the Israel Department of Antiquities. One item brought to my attention was the four- to five-month fetus in a box marked “Masada” that had escaped reburial in 1968. unpublished information was not available to Ben-Tor or other scholars, it is but one of many glaring errors upon which Yadin was forced to rely. Ben-Tor repeatedly questions Nahum Ben-Yehuda’s interpretation of the Masada story; the latter based much of his argument on my initial (1994) publication, some of which I retracted in light of new evidence in 1998. He then writes that while over 900 skeletons are missing from the archaeological record and that I (Zias) believe “Josephus may have converted the few into the all,” I had cited this direct quote from the writings of Shaye Cohen (1982, 404), who today ranks as one of the most searing critics of the Masada story interpreted by Yadin, et al. Ben-Tor then criticizes that my findings in the 1998 article were conclusions based on “photographs, largely unclear.” The published article shows that two of the three photographs taken from the Hebrew University Masada archives are very clear. The third photograph, which appears in Yadin’s (1966) popular book where he discusses the remains of twenty-four skeletons claimed to have been thrown into the cave, was missing from the Masada files and all attempts to obtain a copy from Yadin’s publisher went unanswered. It should be evident to the reader, a fact missed for over three decades, that only a handful of crania appear in the photograph published by Yadin, that they are in disarray, and that there are clear signs of animal predation in the material both in this photo and the accompanying photos (1998). This should dispel any questions regarding the post-mortem chaos. Moreover, the black-and-white 1966 photo in question has been presented in such a way that it gives the appearance of a large number of human remains. If one views unpublished photographs in the Hebrew University archives, one can see the amount of material recovered from locus 2001 is minimal (Fig. 3). Moreover, the number of crania appearing in the photo is no more than five or six, not twenty-four and not as reported by Yadin. (Tsafrir estimated in his field notes seven crania were present). Post-mortem animal predation in the form of teeth marks on the long bones and the fact that the hands and feet are in their correct anatomical position (Fig. 4) along with the long bones splintered for their marrow are evident in the photo. If there is any question of the validity of my interpretation for locus 2001, one has only to take a look at the remains from locus 2002, in the same cave where the base of the skull has been removed by animal predation in one cranium and the identical signs of animal predation appearing in locus 2001 are clearly evident.5 (Fig.5) Ben-Tor then cites Yadin’s interpretation that the skeletons found in locus 2001-2 “seemed to have been thrown haphazardly into the cave, perhaps by the Roman garrison stationed at Masada after its fall.” Having climbed over the southern casement wall, which is somewhat risky, I find this interpretation difficult to accept. Any wrong move leads to possible death, though the field notes of Yadin state that beneath the layer of human skeletal remains was sterile soil lying above Roman pottery and basketry (Zias 1968, 65). Would Romans have taken the risk of disposing of a handful of bodies of the 960 refugees who allegedly committed suicide in the Northern Palace (described by Josephus) on the hazardous southern slope, or would they have tossed the remains over the precipice on the northern side of the mountain? Tsafrir noted in his Oppenheimer lecture that mats were found in locus 2001, which he believed were used to transport the bodies for burial; in fact, one fiber fragment was found attached to one of the crania. This, in my opinion, could only have occurred when the deceased was immediately buried along with the mat, something totally at variance with Jewish burial customs.
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