The water storage tank was carved into the rock. The builders of Herodin designed it as the main water reservoir of the fortress. The entrance to the tank was outside the hill slope. The stone-carved staircase allowed to go down the stairs to the bottom. An underground tunnel delivered water to this tank from the top of the fortress. Excess water was discharged into a neighboring tank.
A stunning structure that has no analogs in the ancient world is the palace, fortress, and mausoleum of one of the most famous rulers of the past - King Herod the Great. Herodion rises above the hills of the Judean desert and silently looks over Bethlehem - the city where Jesus was born. Who knows, maybe it was the Herodion from where Herod the Great gave the order to kill all the babies in Bethlehem to destroy Jesus. Professor Netzer spent 30 years searching for Herod’s tomb and died in Herodion. Who knows, maybe in this way the king’s curse came true, imposed on the one who will disturb his grave. Herodion is the place where Bar Kochba rebels hid and the place where the desert blooms in spring with the blue Iris, so rare for these places.
