Saharonim Fortress

The story

Saharonim Fortress stands inside Makhtesh Ramon, on the route by which the Incense Route descended to the Arava. It was built by the Nabataeans and operated from the first century to the third century CE. The fortress is square, and each of its sides is 42 meters long; inside it a central courtyard and around it workshops, a bathhouse and an oven. Beside it stood a khan — an inn for caravans — which was uncovered in the excavations. The fortress stands close to the spring of Ein Saharonim, the only water source in the area, and this is the reason for the choice of the place: the caravan that came down the hard pass of the makhtesh needed water and shelter at its end. Fritz Frank surveyed the site in 1934, and Rudolf Cohen excavated in it in 1965 and again in the years 1982–1983. Among the finds are Nabataean and Roman coins and many camel bones. In 2005 Saharonim Fortress was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, as one of the fortresses and khans inscribed together with the four cities of the Incense Route.

• Nabataean
• Archaeology
• UNESCO
• Roads and routes
• Desert