Israel, Herodion

The Herodion (Har Hordos) was Herod the Great’s summer palace near Jerusalem and – according to Josephus – the place of his burial. (A possible royal sarcophagus was discovered in 2007 but the identification with Herod is not certain.) There are two distinct parts: the Upper Herodion, a fortress complex set within a mountain top, and the Lower Herodion, the palace proper with several ancillary buildings (bath house, stadium, etc.) In the photograph, the Upper Herodion hill dominates the background, while the foreground shows part of a substantial colonnaded pool (70m x 45m) with a gazebo-like structure set at its centre. The area now in use as a car park would have been a formal garden in Herod’s day.