The "Commandant's Headquarters"

The "Commandant's Headquarters". . , Visitors to Masada in ancient times reached the summit just as we do today, from the east. After climbing to Masada up the Snake Path, they too made their way to the southeastern entrance of the Northern Palace. Here they reached a planned entrance compound containing two buildings with a square between them. The rooms of the buildings were richly decorated, some with wall paintings (frescoes). , The excavators, wondering about the purpose of these rooms, concluded that this was the main entrance square to the storerooms and the Northern Palace, containing the headquarters of the commandant of Masada. , When standing at the entrance to the commandant's headquarters, we realize that from this point one could control the traffic of visitors to the palace and oversee the unloading of goods at the entrance to the storerooms., (Hebrew text not transcribed)