Image Details
Hebrew University Museum/Moshe Cohen
The best-preserved sword, of four found at Masada, came from a burnt layer in the corridor separating the storehouses from an administrative building in the northern palace. It measures 2 feet, 2 inches long and 2.5 inches wide. Both of its sides are flat. The length identifies it as a spatha (long sword), used by the Roman auxiliaries (conscripted non-Roman troops) rather than the shorter, broader gladius (Spanish sword), used by the legionaries.