Some Masada Remains Questioned by Study

Tourists visit the archaeological site in Masada, the desert fortress that was the scene of a mass suicide 2,000 years ago, June 17, 2007. A new research paper published Friday June 22, 2007 takes another look at the remains of three people found at the site, two male skeletons and a full head of women's hair, including two braids. They were long thought to have belonged to a family of Zealots, the fanatic Jewish rebels who killed themselves rather than fall into Roman slavery in the spring of 73 A.D., a story that became an important part of Israel's national mythology. The new research offers new theory on the remains at Masada, saying that the hair belonged not to a Jewish woman but to a foreign woman who fell into the hands of Jewish fighters.(AP photo/Rachael Strecher)