Mapping the Dead Sea

I actually did a suggested project in our History book. The kids themselves asked me to post this!

We are using Mystery of History, Volume II. The Early Church and the Middle Ages. I love the book, I love the author!

This week in History we studied events happening around the Dead Sea. You can see our pin marks. Blue is Jerusalem.

1) White: Masada - A.D. 66-73. Herod the Great lived at Masada when he was a young boy. Later in life he remodeled it and turned it into an unbelievable stronghold. During the First Jewish revolt, a group of Zealots made their escape to Masada. Unfortunately, the Romans made their way up to Masada by building a dirt mound. After using battering rams to break down the walls the Romans entered and found very few Jews alive. The Zealots took their own lives in order to prevent Roman captivity.

2) Yellow: The Dead Sea Scrolls - written by a Jewish sect called the Essenes. These are the very words of our Old Testament Scriptures. They were discovered in Qumran in 1947 by a shepherd boy.

3) Red: Bar-Kokhba - A.D. 135. Bar-Kokhba was once thought to be a legend. But the leader of the Second Jewish Revolt was discovered to be a real person in 1961. Proof was found in a canyon named Nahal Hever. Letters written by Bar-Kokhba to his generals were found in remarkable condition (this attributed to the dry air near the Dead Sea).

Lilly and I made this map.

Bret did this one, and Garret made our flags!

Sad for me, Rachel missed out on this. She is in high school and is doing her own study of World History this year.