Truly utilitarian in its design, yet delightfully elegant in its simplicity, this two- handled vessel was found at Masada and may have served as a cooking pot or a storage jar for one of the inhabitants of the fortress at Masada, fighting desperately for their freedom from the Romans. It is eminently sturdy, and its bulging middle demonstrates that it strives to contain as much as its owner requires, the pot itself seemingly taking part in the struggle for independence.

As we hold it in our hands today, admiring its simple beauty, we are aware of the touch of other hands long ago. Who might have held it when it was new? Were they the very rebels that we read about in the histories of Masada? Were the dreams and emotions that guided their lives so very different from our own? Do we not all strive for independence in our own lives, whether from a socio-political oppressor, or from our own shortcomings? The vessel's graceful unadorned shape appeals as much to the contemporary eye as it did to the culture that created it. Such artifacts, ordinary enough in their own age, connect us in an intimate way with the world of the past. In its presence, the centuries melt away and the imagination sets out on a journey of discovery.