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 Alek Ruins (Ramat Hanadiv)  72 pictures
 1.10 minutes HQ video The Herodian Palace The Herodian Palatial compound was constructed in the last quarter of the 1st century BC under King Herod (37-4 BC). The royal port-city of Caesarea was only 7.5 kilometers away. Rich agricultural life flourished here in that period.  The Herodian remains include several elements: A fortified palace, water facilities (a bathhouse, a pool and an aqueduct) and agricultural facilities (columbarium and an oil-press) near the spring. The palace was built as a fortified tower, rising high above its surroundings and offering a good watch over the Roman road in the outskirts of the valley. The paved passageways that circled the palace isolated it from the other parts of the compound. Attached to the foundations of the palace is a proteichisma - A front wall, 2 meters high on average, whose foundations lay on the solid rock. It served as a barrier to enemy attempts to dig a tunnel under the palace's wall. The tower, five or six stories high, was probably the residence of the mansion's owner.  Based on the number of rooms found in the palace, it probably housed 100-120 tenants. They drew water from the spring at the foothills of the mountain, but also built a cistern inside the staircase (across the entrance to the tower, at the end of the stairwell). During the Jewish rebellion against the Romans (66-70 AD) the palace was abandoned. On the slopes of the mountain more buildings can be discerned, which were all part of the magnificent Herodian compound.  
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