We checked out of the Daniel – Dead Sea Hotel and headed toward Masada.
Masada is an absolute marvel of engineering. A model shows the way it would have looked when it was built. Herod’s palace was on the cliff face, and he would have had a commanding view of the area, but there is no archaeological or written evidence to suggest Herod ever actually stayed in the palace he had built. The long rectangular structures on top would have been storage rooms.
The following description is copied from the website for Masada National Park:
“Masada, the last bastion of the Jewish freedom fighters against the Roman army, symbolizes the end of the kingdom of Judah at the end of the second temple period and its violent destruction. On the mountaintop there are remans of magnificent palaces from the reign of King Herod and silent committees for the Roman siege and the bitter end. The Mountain that became a symbol.”
From the model, Did you notice the walkway from the base of the mountain climbing up? That is called the Snake Path. 
No one in our group chose to walk! Instead, we received our ticket…
and boarded the cable car to the top.
At the top, our guide told the history of Masada. It was a Roman Fortress that was captured by Jewish Zealots after the destruction the temple of Jerusalem. They held it for about three years. The zealots were sieged, but when they new defeat was certain, rather than surrender the fort, they burned it and killed themselves.
Look closely at the next picture. Do you see the black line drawn on the wall on the lower left of the photo? When archaeologists found the ruins, many walls were destroyed or partially destroyed. The line shows the height to which they were standing when they were found. Anything above the line was re-assembled later. Some walls are completely intact, some were re-created and others are left like they were found.
Evidence of a Roman bath house:
A photo is on display of ten “lots.” These pieces of broken pottery bear 10 names and are believed to be the names of ten men who were chosen to kill all remaining Jews living there. Then one of the ten was chosen to kill the other nine and then himself. 
It is evident that Israel has claimed this mountain now!
Next stop – En Gedi – The hideout of David.