Siege of Masada

01The Sicarii leader Eleazar ben Ya'ir chose ten men by lot to kill the rest, then one of the ten killed the other nine, then killed himself.
02Two women and five children survived by hiding in a cistern — their testimony is the only eyewitness account of the mass suicide.
03The Roman Tenth Legion spent two years building a siege ramp of 375 feet to reach Masada's plateau; when they crested it, everyone was dead.

Fengdu Ghost City

In 73 AD, 960 Jewish defenders on Masada's plateau drew lots to kill each other rather than surrender to the Tenth Legion below. The Romans breached the wall to find silence and bodies. Two women and five children hid and survived.