Herodium

For people named Herodion, see Herodion. For the Roman-era theatre, see Odeon of Herodes Atticus.
Herodium
הרודיון‎
جبل فريديس
Aerial view of the acropolis of Herodium
Alternative nameHerodion
LocationWest Bank, Palestine
RegionBethlehem Governorate
Coordinates31°39′57″N 35°14′29″E / 31.66583°N 35.24139°E / 31.66583; 35.24139
TypeFortification
Height758 m (2,487 ft)
History
BuilderHerod the Great
Founded22–15 BCE
Abandoned71 CE and 134/5 CE
PeriodsSecond Temple period, Roman Empire
Site notes
ArchaeologistsVirgilio Canio Corbo, Stanislao Loffreda, Ehud Netzer, Roi Porat
ManagementIsrael Nature and Parks Authority[1]

Herodion (Ancient Greek: Ἡρώδειον; Arabic: هيروديون; Hebrew: הרודיון), Herodium (Latin), or Jabal al-Fureidis (Arabic: جبل فريديس, lit. '"Mountain of the Little Paradise"') is an ancient fortress located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Jerusalem and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) southeast of Bethlehem. It is located between the villages of Beit Ta'mir, Za'atara and Jannatah. It is identified with the site of Herodium, built by King of Judea Herod the Great between 23 and 15 BCE.[2][3][4] Herodium is 758 meters (2,487 ft) above sea level.[5]

The site is in Area C of the West Bank, formally under the jurisdiction of the Israeli Civil Administration, a body of military officers, and in practice it is administered jointly with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.[6][7] Israel asserts that it is entitled to work in the area under the Oslo Accords, but the Palestinian authorities say Israel has no right to undertake digs there or remove artifacts that Israel discovered in excavations there.[8]

  1. ^ "Herodium (Herodeion) National Park". Archived from the original on April 4, 2016.
  2. ^ "Israeli archaeologist dies after fall at King Herod dig". BBC. 2010-10-29. Retrieved 2014-12-17.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Hasson2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference PatrichArubas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Isachar Canetti, Hedva; Isachar, Hanan; Hazel Arieli; Moshe Yanai (2004). Images of the Holy Land. Hanan Isachar Photography. p. 71. ISBN 9789652800855.
  6. ^ On which Side is the Grass Greener? National parks in Israel and the West Bank Archived 2022-06-19 at the Wayback Machine: "The national parks and nature reserves in Area C of the West Bank are managed by the Civil Administration and are designated as “parks.” The parks cover an area of 498,500 dunam, approximately 14.5% of Area C... One of the units of the Civil Administration is the Staff Officer (SO) for Nature Reserves and National Parks. Since Israeli law does not apply to the West Bank, the Staff Officer for the Nature Reserves and National Parks operates under Order 373, a military order that regulates their operation. This order came into effect in 1970 and replaced a previous order (Order 81 regarding Parks) which came into effect in 1967, at the end of the Six-Day War. Order 373 states that once an area in the West Bank has been declared a park, it is the duty of the commander of the area to appoint an authority to manage its affairs (section 4), such as determining rules of conduct in parks, carrying out various construction activities, setting entrance fees, and appointing inspectors (sections 5-7). Order 373 does not stipulate who can be appointed as a managing authority. In practice, the parks in the West Bank are managed by the Staff Officer for Nature Reserves and National Parks and by the National Parks Authority, which the former appointed to manage many parks. Visitors to the parks and reserves in the West Bank can use membership cards issued by the National Parks Authority, and observe the National Parks Authority flags that line the entrances to many of the parks. The blurring of the boundaries between the National Parks Authority and of the Staff Officer obscures the physical and legal boundaries between the West Bank and Israel."
  7. ^ Jonathan Cook, 'Herod exhibit digs up controversy,' Al Jazeera 1 Mar 2013: 'Both the archeological sites at Herodium and Jericho are regulated by the Civil Administration, a body of military officials who oversee Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. Israel has justified its control of the sites on the grounds that they are located in Area C, the nearly two-thirds of the West Bank over which Israel was given control by the Oslo Accords until a peace deal with the Palestinians was agreed.
  8. ^ Robert Tait (19 December 2014). "Royal passageway to King Herod's palace discovered". The Telegraph.