The army included the 10th Legion Fretensis (a legion formed by Octavian, probably in Sicily, specialized in siege operations) and 6 auxiliary cohorts.
The fortress was surrounded on all sides, making it impossible for the defenders to escape. Initially, the Romans intended to wait calmly until the inhabitants of the fortress ran out of water and food supplies and surrendered in the face of impending starvation.
However, it turned out that the defenders had large stocks of food, water tanks and cisterns for collecting rainwater. Thus, the defenders of the fortress did not have to fear starvation, and the Romans had to change their plans for conquering Masada.
They built 7 camps surrounding the entire plateau, the largest of which was 162 by 122 meters. Wooden and earthen ramparts were built, in which observation towers were installed, and a 200 meter long ramp was piled up, on which siege machines could be installed. From these machines the fortress was bombarded with stone projectiles and fireballs.
