Archaeology: Volunteers at Masada

Assembled in battle array below the great rock fortress of Masada, the 5,000 men of the Roman Tenth Legion begin their charge, superbly equipped and ready for the task ahead. Above them, behind the ramparts of the fort, 967 Jewish Zealots brace for a last desperate defense. The setting is not the western shore of the Dead Sea, where the outnumbered Zealots committed mass suicide in A.D. 73 rather than surrender to the Romans, but Manhattan's Jewish Museum, where a panoramic display of exquisitely detailed models will open this week depicting the last days of Masada. The fact...

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