Herodion’s one-to-fifty scale model allows you to understand the in-depth engineering of this one-of-a-kind structure of the ancient world. Concentric walls rest on a round north tower. This design reduces the load on the walls and strengthens them using semicircular of the towers on each wall segment. The staircase portal rose along the hill to the north tower. The staircase was climbed in front of the odeon and an elegant tower with an unusual stone roof, which for many years was considered the burial of Herod the Great.
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.
