May 24, 2025

“Herod was borne upon a golden bier studded with precious stones of various kinds and with a cover of purple over it… And they went [200 furlongs] toward Herodium, for it was there that the burial took place by his own order” (Josephus, Antiquities, 17.197-199).

The Herodium makes this list due to its intriguing nature. It is the kind of place that you would never think to exist unless you have learned about it before (much like Masada).

Herod the Great out of paranoia built many fortresses and palaces to which he could escape if need arose, yet still live in luxury,. Three miles southeast of Bethlehem was one such location, the Herodium. It was the place Herod was ultimately buried.

A jaunt up a steep incline will bring you into a fortress that Herod built into the very hilltop. At the base of the hill at ground level sat yet another grand palace—because the king shall always lack for nothing!

The Herodium featured many assets, including a bathhouse, a meeting hall, a theater, and a triclinium dining room that Jewish rebels later converted into a synagogue when they took over in AD 70.

Most notably, Herod was buried here. His mausoleum was desecrated and ransacked not long after he was laid to rest, but it was recently discovered by Ehud Netzer in 2007. You can explore an extensive cave network that was used for storage and living, but also served as an escape route. You will typically enter the tunnels from the fortress atop the hill and exit on the hillside by the theater and Herod’s tomb.

A similar structure, the Alexandrium, lies to the northeast along the Jordan rift. It was named after the Hasmonean king, Alexander Jannaeus, in the first century BC. Herod imprisoned his second wife and mother-in-law there, and he buried two of his sons that he had executed, Alexander and Aristobulus.

A visit to Israel will reveal many wonders from every era, and they shed light on how major historical events of the world surrounded the land of the Bible!

–Adam Keim