Israel, Masada - The room in which lots were drawn

In this space during archaeological excavations were found eleven ostroca bearing names in Aramaic script. One of eleven inscribed potsherds (ostraca) containing single names, bears in Aramaic script the name ben Ya’ir, undoubtedly Eleazar ben Ya’ir, leader of Masada’s defenders. The historian Josephus relates that when defense against the Romans seemed hopeless, the men at Masada cast lots to decide the order in which they and their families would commit suicide.

Based on the archaeological evidence it is likely that this was the space in which the lots were drawn and the fateful determinations made.