A new museum was inaugurated on May 3, 2007, at the Masada National Park. For the first time, the discoveries found at Masada are on display in a modern museum setting. The museum combines archeological finds and theatrical sets, allowing visitors to feel as though they are part of the Masada story.

The museum is comprised of nine scenes dealing with different aspects of Masada and its place in the cultural, artistic, and architectural landscape of the Hellenistic-Roman world. The scenes are divided into three main topics: the relationship with Rome, the Masada of Herod and the rebels, and the Roman army.

The tour of the museum opens with historian Josephus Flavius and concludes with researcher and archeologist Yigal Yadin. Visitors can hear a variety of historical explanations, including a theatrical radio play written by Ephraim Sidon, which encourages visitors to “see and feel” the story beyond the archeological discoveries.

Visitors can walk among different scenes, which display the saga of Masada that lasted over a hundred years. They can absorb the Roman environment, and see how the refugees that fled to Masada felt during the last stronghold until the dramatic fall of Masada on Passover of the year 73 AD.

Masada was added to UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites in 2001, and it symbolizes the last days of the second temple Judean Kingdom and its violent destruction. Masada was built by Herod, King of Judea, as a palace-fortress in the early Roman style found in the East. The camps, fortifications, and the attack course at the foot of Masada, constitute the most complete example of a Roman siege system that has survived until today.