Endnote 4 – The Masada Siege—From the Roman Viewpoint

The alternate view of 72/73 is largely based on the discovery of a fragmentary papyrus from the Masada summit (presumably attributable to the Roman garrison left in place after the fall of the fortress) addressed to one Julius Lupus, possibly the same individual appointed as Prefect of Egypt in February 73, implying that the fortress must already have fallen to the Romans by that date. However, it is equally possible that this was a copy of a letter (or even an original that was never sent) written by an author who belonged to the post-conquest Masada garrison. For more details see Hannah M. Cotton and Joseph Geiger, Masada II: The Yigael Yadin Excavations 1963–1965, Final Reports: The Latin and Greek Documents (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1989), pp. 21–23.