CAESAREA FIELD REPORT PART 6

IV.4. The Promontory Palace.

The palace was built in two stages: We are looking down at the original Palace of Herod, which he had built into the sea, while we are standing in the upper palace of Pontius Pilate (his name was discovered on an inscription). There was some confusion about those two parts of the palace. The first excavators on this site were Netzer/Levine, while the upper part was excavated later by Sheffy, who thought the whole palace was built by Herod and not for the first Roman governor. The fact that coins from the governors period were found only under the floor of the upper part of the palace gives evidence – together with the mentioned inscription) that the upper part was built later, and not by Herod. 

In the now green area to the north are the less important structures, where all activities connected to the ruling system of the area, like administrational edifices, office for taxation, inner security etc. took place. These government offices were called “praetorium”. The size of the compound surprised excavators and serves as an indication that this country did have a special status for Rome, for being hard to deal with:

Jews never connected or mingled with the Romans, and were thus seen as troublemakers (a similar situation like in the time between the two world wars under British rule).

Another reason for the overlarge administrational compound might lie in the fact that the Jewish state served as a buffer zone for the Roman Empire and the mighty Parthians(as stated already under history).

There were other problems for Rome: While on the one hand the Jewish state served as a buffer-zone, on the other hand, the Jewish state was a troublemaker, not accepting Roman rule easily, and to have the Jewish state near the border, meant also problems, similar to today’s situation of Turkey having a common border with the former UDSSR, making the US very interested in Turkey, in air-bases there etc. 

Therefore, in eastern Turkey (which includes Haran and Ararat) one travels on great roads that have been built by the US. The same can be said of Ancient Israel, Rome and the Parthians with plenty of great roads with milestones. 

Judea was a country with special status all around the time of Roman history, and this shows in the size of the administration.

Before excavations took place, one could only read and fantasize about those buildings, which touch upon very important points of history. Now, when most of the buildings are excavated, it is much easier to envision how Roman life was in Caesarea, and also in the whole Roman Empire.

We continue our tour to the (earlier) section of Herod’s palace which he built on rocks, a very special and bold project in every time and age!

Herod built the palace with courtyards that were surrounded by buildings, thus giving

privacy to all rooms built around the central courtyard, as there were practically no openings toward the outside.

These measures were applied by Herod not only in his palaces but in building private houses as well.

(Classical Greek architecture – in palaces the light was coming from the open courtyards to the surrounding buildings.)

Herod built 8 different palaces, most came with similar concepts.

Herod personally would probably have preferred to build palaces like the one in the north of Masada, where a side door leads to an unbelievable hanging palace on three floors. This seems more what he really would have preferred to build everywhere, open pavilions, with great views, like the view of Ein Gedi from the palace in the north of Masada.

Josephus Flavius saw the palace on Masada from the outside and commented on the “transparency” of it, with its openness, while on his other palaces Herod had to “behave” and build in the modest closed-in mode.

Therefore is was not surprising to find in Caesarea at the further-most part of the palace, facing the sea, some rooms that were open towards the sea, similar to the open pavilions found in Masada. 

The palace had also two private bath-houses.

When looking down to the palace we can make out a large square area: this was a pool within the palace. It had in its middle an artificial isle with – most probably – a statue on it. It was a fresh-water pool (shells found at the sites indicated that the water was not salty sea water). The pool was surrounded by colonnades which held the roof. The palace was built probably on two floors.

The basic material used for building was limestone bedrock and kurkar.

The palace was not destroyed by any earth quakes but was clearly destroyed and looted: the closeness of the sea made it easy to steal and ship the loot off.

When looking down we can watch ongoing renovations of the beautiful mosaic that was found on the floor in the entrance to the main palace.

We walk towards the staircase leading to the lower floor of the palace. 

In the far end we can see the area where the small crusader city was. 

IV.5. The Hippodrome

In between is the huge space of the hippodrome.

 (Hippo=horse in Greek, drom=chariot)

Josephus Flavius tells us that this is the place where in the year 9 CE. Herod celebrated the inauguration of Caesarea with an Olympiad-like contest. He invited the best sportsmen of this time, a step that was opposed by his local sports heroes for fear of not being successful. He therefore introduced two new medals – silver and bronze – to the sport event to allow his local champions a chance to win a medal (until then, only the winners received a medal).

In this hippodrome, the audience is sitting facing the sea in the same way as in the theatre except that there is no surrounding wall to conceal the view to the water, giving the audience the great view to the sea. This inclusion of nature was part of the “local culture”, together with plenty of decoration, among them the pillars around the whole arena, that was applied mainly in the eastern countries ruled by Rome and that was more sophisticated than anything else in Rome.

When Pontius Pilate introduced statues into the hippodrome the Jews reacted with fury, since the Jewish tradition does not allow the depiction of persons. When he stood up on his terrace, the Jews started to disturb, he asked his solders to interfere. But the Jews were adamant and asked to be killed rather than to be exposed to those statues.

After the death of Herod, the governors ruling after him added another tribune in the far north side in order to double the number of spectators. The hippodrome served for all kinds of performances.

(The second hippodrome – like Josephus described – was built more to the west and lies outside of today’s national park. We shall see the red protruding obelisk in its middle later when driving out of the national park.)

The hippodrome is sometimes also called “theatre” or “arena”. 

To the original hippodrome, there were several amendments and additions and renovations, walls were erected to protect the audience from the wild beasts etc.

The hippodrome was changed and amended five times, before it was abandoned in the 2^nd century CE, because it was too close to the sea and was flooded. That was when the other hippodrome was built.

While we are sitting in the Hippodrome, Avi (Ben Hur) reads from the book “As a driven leaf” by Milton Steinberg, describing how the 10 sages were executed brutally, like the thin Simon, and how Chanina held the Torah scrolls to his body, an account which is read during the Mussaf-prayer of Yom Kippur.

The book gives an account which is fictional but also historical.

At the far end to the hippodrome (where there is a very nice and light monument of a chariot with a driver), are the boxes in which the chariots stood before the races began. In order to have all horses start at the same exact time, a rope was pulled and released. 

Also it is important to know of the many changes and renovations this hippodrome underwent during the course of the two centuries it was in use, before it was abandoned and filled with debris.

CAESAREA FIELD REPORT PART 5

IV. VISITING THE EXCAVATION IN CAESAREA

IV.1. The Roman theatre

As we enter the site through an opening in the wall that surrounds the theatre, we find ourselves in a tunnel with an arched roof: 

The barrel vault:

In this theatre Herod built a simple continuous vault in a typical semicircular arch with cross sections.

Already 2000 years prior to Herod the Canaanites used this kind of arch-building in Tel Dan or in Ashkelon. (Their vaults were made of mud bricks, only occasionally they used stone).

Barrel-vaults were an important part of Herod,s building. Its purpose was to build houses or other structures with more than one floor. Since wood was rare and long beams were not available, they resorted to barrel vaults.

Herod used mainly kurkar (a kind of local sandstone found along the coast of Israel) – and other lime-stones – a cheap and abundantly available stone found in the area. Since the stones were not very beautiful many structures were covered with plaster and then painted. (The plaster was also used to maintain the structural integrity of the walls).

The father of Alexander the Great built the first stone vault in Regina in northern Greece. We find barrel vaults also in Pergami in Turkey and Maresha (water caves).

The greatest example is the Temple mount in Jerusalem, where Herod used this method in order to achieve an elevated plateau on which he then built the superstructures.

The advantage of building barrel vaults is manifold: The room under the arches can be used as passage or storage-room, the area above the vault serves at the same time as base for another structure, or in the case of theatres, as ground for another sets of rows of seats for the public.

In this theatre there were two levels of barrel-vaults. This allowed spectators to look down on the stage, creating an artificial slope that carries the theatre.

This was an innovation in ancient times: the Romans were of the opinion: “We are the masters of the world – we can overcome nature if we have to!” And it is true: The Romans were the masters of urban and environmental building – comparable to today’s ideas about building and architecture.

Among the several novelties in the art of building at the time was the introduction of plastering stone that was not very beautiful in itself but cheap and easily available. 

For Herod presentation and looks was all: his buildings had to look impressive and big! He did not shy from a kind of early trompe l’oeil by using cheap stone or bricks, which he then plastered and painted to look like something much more beautiful, more expensive and exclusive, e.g like marble before marble was introduced to the area. (The actual building was done by local workmen.)

Only in the times of Hadrian (1/2^nd century CE) marble was imported from Marmara in Anatolia, Turkey, or from quaries in Egypt (only much later Italian marble was imported from Carrara). Hadrian renewed the theatre (a process that would be repeated again and again in later times) and converted it to other uses as well. At some time it was even flooded with water, and two boats were fighting with each other. The dentures in the stones who served for the wooden dam that kept the water within the arena are still visible.

This theatre has been heavily restored. It was excavated by Lee I. Levine and Ehud Netzer in the sixties, before a stricter code for excavations was established. Excavators felt at ease to reconstruct rather than to show the original structures, therefore only very few of the original stones are seen today. 

The upper gallery was re-built on concrete – instead of trying to rebuild the former barrel vault-arches, as was the original theatre was (and still is in the case of the lower gallery).

The theatre is a semi-circular structure. Facing the sea are the two sets caveas (the sitting circles of the Roman theatre are called “kavea” =elevations on which are the seats) arranged in the way of the typical Roman theatre, with two barrel vaults above each other (today one concrete and a barrel vault), each holding about 14 rows. 

Today, we can actually see the sea when sitting in the kavea. But 2000 years ago the theatre was walled in and even covered with cloths.

The fact that we know that the theatre had a roofing (the vellum/vallum) to protect the audience from sun and rain is due to the lucky finding of the architectural handbook of that time: ten scrolls from the architect Vitruvius were found, describing how to build a city and the harbor. (A fine example of how a Roman theatre looked like is seen in the film “the gladiator”).

A big part of the center is reserved for the (expensive) orchestra seats. 

The stage itself was built on a podium of ca. 1m, and had also trap doors for “special effects”.

From the stage, a modern metal stairs leads downstairs to the dressing rooms. Modern performances (operas, concerts etc.) are held to this day. In Herod’s time, in this theatre mostly there were performances with actors.

We climb up the high steps to the first gallery and exit the theatre from there, which is on the same level as the entrance.

IV. 2. The model of Caesarea

We view this model, which is built on ca. 1.5m x 1.5m in a covered area, very convenient for giving explanations to groups.

Models are excellent tools to explain sites to visitors in an overall and general way.

We can see all the important places of Caesarea like the harbor, the temple, the palace, bath-houses, which are all in the center, while less important sites are further away from the center.

We see the huge temple, and how the palace is built into the sea, making an understructure mandatory (like it was mandatory for the Jerusalem Temple to have an understructure).

We see the huge harbor with its wave-breakers. (The whole outer and inner harbor sunk into the sea, but is still visible from above). We see the pagan temple, which was built above the harbor and that was dedicated to Rome and to Augustus. We are pointed out the roofed theatre, where chamber performances took place. We see the bullae which was the seat of the senate of the city.

We are pointed out the aqueducts in the far north of the area (not in the model), which brought the water from the eastern slopes through small canals to the city. (The aqueducts will be subject of a separate field trip).

IV. 3. The area between the theatre and the sea

We continue towards the city’s south-furthest walls next to the theatre.

The city walls were first built by Herod during the Roman Period (under Pontius Pilate) and in the Byzantine period, as in the later Moslem-, Crusador- and modern period the walls remained “the Wall of Herod”, even if the original structure had collapsed.

Next to the wall, towards the sea, are remains of tombs of solders. Iin the middle are tombs of crusaders.

We continue towards the sea, in front of the theatre. As pointed out before, the Roman theatre was built near the sea, the seats facing west, which is the water, but the theatre was walled in: the performances were thought to be much too important to be disturbed by nature. 

Between the wall that surrounded the theatre, and the sea, we find a structure of a half circle – adjacent to the wall that blocked the view from the theatre to the sea, which was excavated. Similar structures were found also in other places. The answer to the riddle, what these structures could have served for, still has not been found.

In the space between this structure and the sea we see in the grass a lot of broken Dorian columns of plastered and painted stones or mud-bricks, giving the impression of stucco or marble.

In Byzantine times the wall in back of the theatre were used as city walls. We continue north toward Herod’s palace 

CAESAREA FIELD REPORT PART 4

III.6…..and the bankruptcy of paganism

Changes were in the air also for the pagan society.

Already Alexander the Great had started the concept of “global village”. Wooden, metal or ceramic man-made gods were too small, too unimpressive, and unimportant. A god that could be smashed was simply not adequate any longer. People were looking for more meaningful philosophies which would be less immoral and hedonistic and more spiritual. Judaism seemed to have great answers to these questions. Millions converted therefore to Judaism. Queen Helena from Iraq came to Jerusalem and converted together with her son Mombaz.

The world was ready and ripe for a more spiritual life. Slowly but surely paganism went bankrupt.

The Jewish elite watched this development with mixed feelings; the Mishna tells of a mounting pressure regarding these conversions.

After the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, the world embraced Christianity which soon was to become the world religion.

III.7. Theatres in ancient times

Theories about the development of the theater generally begin with Greek drama; this is etymologically appropriate as well as historically correct, since the words theory and theater are related through their Greek sources. The Greek ancestor of theater is theātron, “a place for seeing, especially for dramatic representation, theater.” Theātron is derived from the verb theāsthai, “to gaze at, contemplate, view as spectators, especially in the theater,” from theā, “a viewing.” The Greek ancestor of theory is theōriā, which meant among other things “the sending of theōroi (state ambassadors sent to consult oracles or attend games),” “the act of being a spectator at the theater or games,” “viewing,” “contemplation by the mind,” and “theory or speculation.” It is thus fitting to elaborate theories about culture while seeing a play in a theater. (from “google”)

Theatres are a Greek invention. Greek culture knew theatres from the 5^th century BC on. The Greeks were famous for their great tragedies and comedies which told the stories of the Greek mythology. (The MOIRA= is the fate that cannot be changed.)

In ancient Greece every person was given a free day, salary paid, in order for him to go to the theatre. It was a wonderful way to instruct a people, who did not have written sources, of their traditions, the stories of their gods. The theatre was therefore ideal for a “bible-less” people to get familiar with their tradition, making theatres a very important tool in Greek culture. The Romans adopted this culture and introduced their own versions to their citizens and people living in their cities. The Roman world was like a continuation of the Greek World and therefore Theatres became a fundamental characteristic of every Roman city as well. There were no cities without a theatre, sometimes a city would host several theatres.

(The Hellenistic Empire was not built on great cities but was more a rural society. Beside Athens there were very few cities in Greece itself.)

Greek was the main language spoken in the area and in these times in general, it was the common language, the lingua franca, comparable to English of today. It was the language spoken and used for every sector of life, be it commercial, cultural or political. Even the Jewish Sages used Greek as common dialect. Sometimes the Aramean language was spoken. Greek was spoken from the 7^th century BC until the Byzantine time. Latin was spoken in Rome and in the western part of the Roman Empire. But Romans spoke Greek in Judea. 

There were Romans from a lot of different origins but ruled by one Empire and one king.

The characters in the dramas were mostly semi-gods, and they had the same petty life as man. The gods were very close to the people, and were also as petty as people who steal from one another, and with their own moods, without any values or morals.

The theatre fulfilled a very important role in educating and introducing the population with the sagas and mythologies of their culture. These plays are until today played in all theatres in the world, and are a great source of ancient traditions. 

There were no Greek theatres in Ancient Israel.

III.8. The Roman theatre

In the Roman culture theatres took on another dimension. Fights between animals, animals and humans, or humans against humans, seemed to be a great – and very bloody! – entertainment for the soldiers (and also the citizens) of the Roman Legions throughout the Roman Empire. Those fights took place either in the hippodrome or in the amphitheatre. The amphitheatre of Caesarea was not built by Herod

In every city there was at least one theatre. Caesarea had several Roman theatres, the amphitheatre and the two hippodromes. (Joseph Flavius mentioned the two hippodromes in his writings. Since for many years only the hippodrome next to the harbor had been found and excavated, readers of Josephus came to the conclusion that he probably never had been in Caesarea. But then the second hippodrome was discovered – proving him right.)

The idea of the theatre was adapted and adopted by Herod. For him it was a “mitzva” to build Roman theatres! Though building the first theatre in Judea was not a very Jewish thing and was quite opposed to Jewish thought.

In the 1^st century BC the greatest theatre was in Caesarea, a city, who came with all Roman feature landmarks, crying out to all: “this is a Roman city”.

Diaries of a tour guide course

Undertaking a serious study of the Jewish promised land is no simple matter. It is one thing to just look at a map and decide where to go and visit famous sites. But, what about the history connected with those sites. There alone one can sub-divide knowledge of the past into several sectors. On the one hand it is possible to gain an understanding of the evolvement of the children of Israel through biblical studies, which is highly recommended. However, that alone doesn’t always satisfy a desire to bring such accounts to life. Extra biblical sources can provide sterling evidence of the neighbors that surrounded the early Hebrews.

Do you fancy taking a trip to Israel and maybe becoming a tour leader of your own group? The benefits are enormous and can include many free travel opportunities. A special course will be operated by qualified and experienced JTVC staff to enable you to learn more about such subjects as the history of Israel, its diverse people, its geological composition, and much more besides.

Amusing Note: In 2005, I had to present a sample tour to a panel of Israel Ministry of Tourism experts. Having sweated for days and nights for two years to thankfully pass the main exams, I was facing the last but nonetheless critical hurdle. To enhance my presentation, which included ancient theaters, I had spent considerable time building a clay model of an amphitheater. After carefully wrapping it, I took a bus to the government sector of Jerusalem where the ministry office was located. Unknown, until the last moment, a bus passenger accidentally damaged my model. It was only when I proudly brought it out to the waiting examiners that I noticed the full extent of the disaster. With nothing to lose I declared “a funny thing happened to the theatre on the way here!” (one normally says a funny thing happened to me on the way to the theater) Well, thankfully I did manage to get through that final presentation and get my license!

Feel free to get in touch with us for further details.

CONTACT JTVC 

CAESAREA FIELD REPORT PART 3

III. HEROD 

III.1. History of the population in Herod’s time

In the prime time of Caesarea, there lived a mixed population of Romans, Greeks and Jews.

(The Mishna laments that there was no way Jerusalem and Caesarea could exist together, calling Caesarea “the Daughter of Edom”.)

At the end of the Second Temple Period, there were approximately 10 Million Jews living in the Roman Empire. In Caesarea there was a population of 50,000, of which some 20,000 were Jews.

Judea was important to Rome which needed some buffer states between their empire and the mighty Parthian empire.

Rome therefore annexed Judea in the year 6CE.

Caesarea became the capital of the roman province of Judea and therefore the residence of the procurator. Jerusalem was no longer the Capital of Judea (before that it was a semi-independent country, not formally part of the Roman Empire.) 

In the coming decades the differences between the Greeks and the Jews (mainly about their part in the administration, economic competition and a general antipathy due to mutual religious intolerance) led to civil-war like disputes in the year 66, in which – according to Josephus Flavius – over 20,000 Jews were killed. This slaughter led to the first revolt of the Jews against the Romans. 

In disputes between Jews and pagans the emperor would generally rule in favor of the pagans.

When the Jewish War was over, Vespasian andTitus declared Caesarea a Roman colony, naming it Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Caesarea. 

After the revolt failed, the Jews were sent from the port of Caesarea as slaves.

III.2. The Roman culture

Rome conquered the world twice fold: first with its army, but more importantly with its culture. What turned the population of conquered lands to accept Roman rule, thus making life for the ruler easier, was achieved by introducing them to the Roman Way of Life. If possible the conquered states should be even more Roman than the Romans themselves. It was a very attractive, physical life.

Important roles were played by the road-system with beautiful edifices – whose impressiveness was sometimes its sole raison d,etre – the fori, the bath-houses, the agora and also the theatres and hippodromes that served as entertainment, mainly for the Roman soldiers, but also for the population. Such an attractive culture was very difficult to withstand. 

III.3. Herod – Roman king or Jewish king?

Herod was the descendant of converts, with two very diverging souls living in his breast: one who admired Roman Culture wholeheartedly, and another Jewish one that was in contrast with all Rome represented. From the visit to Caesarea it is easy to determine that here his Roman soul was stronger.

III.4. Herod the megalomaniac builder

With the building of the harbor Herod fulfilled one of his dreams of Megalomania of having the biggest harbor of the time and – after Jerusalem – the most impressive city of the area.

Herod introduced several new techniques of building. Among the most important was the way he changed landscapes by building. He built artificial hills (Herodion) or he filled valleys with material to create a bigger surface (temple in Jerusalem). In order for buildings like temples and palaces to be seen from afar, it was necessary to build them on elevated ground which was achieved by building structures like the barrel-vaults that supported large platforms and to build the main building on these elevations.

A key-issue to becoming part of the Roman environment was to build Roman cities. Herod founded new cities or turned existing ones into Roman-style-cities.

Herod wanted to fulfill his dream of building HIS Roman city, a city that would surpass anything any Roman had ever seen, that would impress the whole world, and that corresponded to his Megalomania. Caesarea with its mixed population of Greeks, Romans and Jews, and with its access to the sea, seemed the perfect site for Herod, because it provided him with the possibility to deal with his pagan part. One of his aims was to show the Romans how much he admired and was loyal to the Emperor and Roman Culture. A second major aim with regards to Caesarea was to strengthen his economic base by building a key port that would serve as a resting station for ships sailing in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea between the other two largest ports in the region; Alexandria and Athens-Piraeus.

At the same time, Herod felt that he had a Jewish mission in his life. He therefore re-built the Temple of Jerusalem, the largest and most beautiful structure of the world. While the structure of the Temple was very Roman, the Temple was still a Jewish Temple, thus merging his two souls, while not in balance but dragging toward his Roman soul.

III. 5. The challenge of paganism…..

Throughout the Roman Empire, local indigenous peoples adapted themselves quite eagerly to first Hellenistic and then Roman culture. Jews in the Diaspora were also influenced by the dominant Greco-Roman culture and were also able to adapt to some extent to it. But in the Land of Israel, where Jewish culture was dominant, it was mainly the wealthy and aristocratic classes that adopted Greco-Roman culture, whereas most Jews evidently kept their distance. This culture did not contain the moral-ethical basis that Jewish religion taught. There were also some very basic differences in a world view. Greco-Roman culture put the focus on the individual whereas Jewish culture put a high value on community or the collective. Hellenistic culture was much more materialistic whereas Jewish culture was more spiritual. Most importantly, Hellenistic and later Roman culture was universal and tolerant, whereas Judaism was particularistic and exclusive. For example, Greco-Roman culture respected Gods of other cultures, but Judaism rejected all other Gods but their own. The Jewish dietary laws of Kashrut prevented them from coming into significant social intercourse with Pagans. Jews perceived the Land of Israel as given to them by God to the exclusion of the pagans living there. All of these factors led to constant tension between Jews and Pagans and later between Romans and Jews since the former almost always took the side of the Pagans with whom they empathized. 

Jerusalem was at that time a very active and an impressive cultural meeting point with many different Judaisms living next to each other. 

Josephus mentions three different groups, while the Mishna writes about 20 such groups, whose main concern was to define which was the real Judaism.

Living within the borders of the Roman Empire, it was inevitable that some customs of the Roman Culture were adapted by the Jews in Judea, since it was such an attractive culture. While they did adopt some features of the Roman culture into their homes, at the same time they were very careful not to cross a red line. Though even high priests in Jerusalem succumbed partly – in some homes of high priests, frescoes were found – they were not ready to fully buy into Roman culture, since this was something else completely and was not desirable.

What inhibited the Jews from embracing Roman Culture was the very paganism of it.

Before the great revolt there lived about 10 million Jews in the world, alone in Caesarea there lived about 20,000 Jews. And they were ready to fight the world for survival and victory of Judaism.

CAESAREA FIELD REPORT PART 2

II.1. Timeline 1

(Explanation given mainly around the model near entrance to the Roman theatre and at the respective sites)

In the 4^th century BC Phoenician traders settled in this area. They fortified the very small bay on the Mediterranean coast into a port and called the small city Migdal (tower of) Sharshan (after the King of Sidon, the port north of the area). The Greek called the harbor Stratonos Pyrgos, tower of Straton. 

In 63BC Alexander Jannaios, the Hasmonean king, bought the city. 

In 31 BC Augustus appointed Herod as king of the Jews and gave him the area. 

In 22 BC Herod started to rebuild the area completely, renaming it Caesarea, in honor of the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar. 

In 9BC the city of Caesarea was inaugurated with a big ceremony, that included an Olympiada, the sports-competition still held today.

Caesarea was the second important city in the area after Jerusalem. It was the commercial center.

In 4 CE, with the death of Herod, his son Archelaus continued with both places until the year 6CE, when he was deposed by Rome.

Between 26 and 36 Pontius Pilate resided in the palace that Herod had built.

Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenike – both known to be friendly to Rome – had fled from their residence in Tiberias to Caesarea. 

In 69 CE Vespasian was declared Emperor by his solders at Casesarea

In the second century Caesarea became the capital of all Palestine, remaining so when the country was further divided into three provinces. A dedication stone found in the Theater, commissioned by Pontius Pilate, is further evidence of the importance of Caesarea to the Roman officials.

The center of the rulers is in the old Herodian palace which was enlarged. The administrational center was in the north if the palace, in a long and big building, whose ruins are still visible.

Late Roman period (100 – 325)

When Christians took over Caesarea after 324, it was still the capital, and it became an important city and center of the Christian religion.

The big temple was deliberately destroyed and a church was built on the site of the destroyed temple.

Under the Caesar Severus Alexander (222-235) the country regained economic strength and there was no restriction of religions. Caesarea became Metropolis with the official name of Colonia Prima Flavia Augusta Felix Caesarea Metropolis Provinciae Syriae Palaestinae (and lost herewith the name of Judea.)

Byzantine period (325 – 638)

In the 4^th century CE Constantine re-united the Roman Empire but moved the capital to Byzantium-Constantinople.

Around the 5^th century CE the city had about 50’000 mostly Christian inhabitants and was the biggest city of Byzantine Palestine.

In 614 the Persians invaded the city – helped by the Jews of the Galilee.

In the 7^th century CE the Moslems invaded and conquered the country. Caesarea lost its importance; its name was now Quesari, while the center was moved to Ramle.

The city continued to flourish under Byzantine rule.

In the end of the 11^th century CE the crusaders re-established Christian control of the Holy Land, re-using the harbor again, fortifying the city they called Cesaree.

In 1187 Saladin defeated the crusaders, destroying all settlements and harbours in order not to give access from the sea.

In 1228 German Crusaders arrived in Caesarea and rebuilt the city-walls. 

The remains of the walls we see today are the fortifications that the crusader King Louis IX of France built.

In 1265, Baybars, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, recaptured Caesarea. He followed the example set by Saladin and destroyed the city again. The Ironically the policy of desolation of the coastal areas by Saladin and later the Baybars ostensibly to prevent the return of the Crusaders resulted in a swampy and malaria infested coast that facilitated the later purchase of this area by the early Zionist.

For the next 600 years, except for an occasional European traveler, Caesarea was virtually deserted.

At the end of the 18^th century, Ahmed Al-Jazar needed the beautiful columns for his buildings in Acre.

In 1884 the Turks settled Moslem refugees from Bosnia in the area of the former crusader city.

In 1940 Israeli settlers began to settle in what they called kibbutz Sedot Yam south of the ruins.

Today Caesarea is a pleasant, well-planned neighborhood of mostly private houses. It is, apart from its archaeology, well known for its golf course.

II.2. Timeline 2
 II.3. Timeline 3

Harbor Chronology

Dr. Avner Raban

Center for Maritime Studies

University of Haifa, Israel

350-260 BCE: “Straton’s Tower” a coastal city of Phoenician type, equipped with an ample harbor. The city was named after either the Sidonian king Abdashtart or an unknown Hellenistic commander of Ptolemy II Philadelpus.

258 BCE: an Egyptian official from Ptolemy II lands at the port of Straton’s tower. His mission was to collect taxes from Palestine.

c.130-100 BCE: a local Seleucid governor, named Zoilus, creates his own tyrannate, or petty kingdom, with Straton’s Tower as its capital. The town is fortified, and withstands a siege by the Seleucids and Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus.

c.100 BCE: Ptolemy Lathyrus helps Jannaeus add Straton’s Tower to his Judean kingdom.

63 BCE: Pompey visits Palestine. He diverts coastal pagan cities from the Judean kingdom, including Straton’s Tower.

c.30 BCE: Strabo describes Straton’s Tower as a small coastal settlement with an anchorage.

21-10 BCE: King Herod the Great builds the harbour of Sebastos and the adjoining city of Caesarea.

15 BCE: Herod hosts a visit from Marcus Agrippa and shows off his new harbour.

10 BCE: Herod inaugurates Sebastos and Caesarea, giving the harbor to the “Mariners” and the city “to its peoples.”

4 BCE: Herod dies, and is succeeded by his son, Archelaus.

6 CE: The Romans depose Archelaus. Judea is then ruled as a Roman province with Caesarea as its capital.

43 CE: St. Paul the Apostle sails from Sebastos to Tarsus and later (58-60 CE) is imprisoned at Caesarea.

66 CE: Severe disputes occur between the gentile majority in Caesarea and its Jewish population, over the matter of citizenship. This triggers the outbreak of the Great Jewish revolt.

70 CE: Using Caesarea as their headquarters, the Romans crush the revolt, and Caesarea is re-founded as a Roman colony. This includes both the city and the harbor.

c.200 CE: St. Peter sails from Caesarea to Italy.

253 CE: The largest coins minted in Caesarea still depict Tyche, the city goddess, followed by a genius holding an anchor – symbolizing the harbour.

c.500 CE: Anastasius I renovates the harbour of Caesarea.

614-628 CE: The Sassanians of Iran capture Caesarea and govern it for 15 years. Maritime activity is documented.

640 CE: The Arabs conquer Caesarea after 7 years of intermittent siege.

844 CE: Ibn Khurdadhbih lists Caesarea as one of the ports of Palestine.

897-985 CE: Al Ya’qubi, al-Muqadisi, and other Arab geographers mention and describe Caesarea as a flourishing, fortified coastal city.

1047 CE: The Persian traveller Nasir-i-Khusrau visits “Caesarea-by-the Sea.”

11/5/1101 CE: Franks and Genoese capture Caesarea, slaughter most of the residents, and sack the city.

1166 CE: Al Idrisi describes Caesarea as a large and well fortified city with a small harbour that is capable of holding but one boat.

1177 CE: The byzantine John Phocas describes the “truly wonderful harbour of Caesarea which was made by human skill.”

15/7/1187 CE: Caesarea is easily taken and sacked by two of Saladin’s officers.

Dec. 1217 CE: After 30 years of desolation, Caesarea is rebuilt by Hospitallers.

1225 CE: The geographer Yaqut describes Caesarea as being a mere village.

1228-1251 CE: Caesarea is rebuilt and fortified by the Germans and the Franks (St. Louis).

27/2/1265 CE: The thorough ruining and deliberate filling in of the harbour is carried out by the Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil in 1291.

CAESAREA FIELD REPORT PART 1 

Caesarea – Hanna Zaidner

This report was compiled between 2003-2005. It should be noted that many changes have occurred since then, and the serious student of Israeli history, geography and other studies, should take the time to update their knowledge. However, that said, it does form a stable starting point from which to enhance one’s overall knowledge base.  In recent years, I have personally enjoyed the good fortune to have been taken behind the scenes of some of the latest excavations in this area, which has greatly increased our collective knowledge related to events that shaped the history of this remarkable man made port. There is no substitute for an actual site visit to fully appreciate what any site in Israel has to offer, especially here. The same holds true for undertaking an in-depth study program such as the one provided by various accredited organizations to be allowed to sit the challenging exams set by the Israeli Minister of Tourism to become a fully licensed tour guide in Israel.

We are happy to provide information and professional services related to making travel arrangements to Israel, as well as undertaking educational courses that can greatly enhance ones knowledge of the subjects presented in this series.  Accordingly, feel free to contact us through the form below, clearly stating the nature of your enquiry, and we will be happy to get back to.

David Lev Bannister – Licensed Tour Guide

Preface

In my humble opinion what we as tour guides should do is to relate the stones in the ground to some of the central issues which face mankind.

Ceasarea is an excellent place to do this. This is the theme we can focus on here. The battle of Roachnus and Gasmiut, Spirituality verses “The guy who dies with the most toys wins.

This theme is developed by Avner Goren in his lecture at the Roman Theater. I have included an audio of that lecture.

As Avner points out this was the place that Roman Culture first entered into Herod’s Israel. And Caesarea will be the place that the revolution that ultimately caused the destruction of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem begins.

Avner notes that the Romans were not Hedonistic but sought to enjoy the good life with bodily comforts. They shared this “good life” with their subjects and thus it was normally easy for them to maintain their control. But no different than at the time of the Hashmoneans before and the Muslim Fundamentalist today, there are those who reject such concerns.

Sometimes is is hard to tell who is who without a scorecard. Remember the quarters of the priests in the Jewish Quarter. They too were enjoying a pretty good life.

Richard Fiedler

In addition to audio files I have included two picture files. One can be used to produce a large drawing of the Caesarea that is on the title page and another is an archeological map of Caesarea.

Content:

I. INTRODUCTION

I.1 Itinerary

I.2. Miscellaneous en route to Caesarea

II THE NATIONAL PARK OF CAESAREA

II.1. Timeline 1

II.2. Timeline 2

II.3. Timeline 3

III. HEROD

III .1. History of the population in Herod’s time

III .2. The Roman Culture

III.3. Herod – Roman King or Jewish King?

III.4. Herod – the megalomaniac builder

III.5. The challenge of Paganism

III.6. The bankruptcy of Paganism

III.7. Theatres in ancient times

III.8. The Roman theatre

IV VISITING THE EXCAVATIONS

IV.1. The Roman theatre

IV.2. The Model of Caesarea

IV.3. Between the theatre and the sea

IV.4. The Promontory Palace

IV.5. The Hippodrome

IV.6. The Bathhouse

IV.7. The Cardo and the Decomanos

IV.8. (The Ralli-Museum): The Harbor

V CHRISTIANITY

I. INTRODUCTION

I.1. Itinerary

6.30 am Departure from Jerusalem 

8.10 am Arrival at the National Park of Caesarea, entrance to Roman Theatre, use of facilities near entrance

8.20 am visit to Roman Theatre

9.45 am coffee break, use of facilities near entrance to the National Park (entrance to Roman Theatre)

10.30 explanations at model near entrance

11 am visit of southern city wall, area west of the Roman Theatre (cliff above the sea), the Palace, Harbor, temple, hippodrome, roman bath, streets 

2 pm – 2.45 pm short ride on Bus to a mall of kibbutz Dor Akiva, lunch

2.45 pm leaving with bus to the Ralli-museum (which is closed)

3 pm back to the National Park of Caesarea to visit the crusaders city (second of the 3 entrances)

We leave Jerusalem and drive on route 1 to route 6 northbound till end of highway, turning west into # 65 till Caesarea.

I.2. Miscellaneous en route to Caesarea

Route 6 follows the ancient road of the Via Maris that connected the civilized world of the Fertile Crescent (Egypt, Syria and Babylon) in ancient times. One of the cities situated on the Via Maris is Antipatris, who’s flagged Citadel we can make out on our left (west) and whose beginnings go back to the Canaanite kings. Antipatris lies at the source of the Yarkon-river.

Saint Paul traveled on this route and stopped over in Antipatris on his way from Jerusalem to Caesarea, our destination of today.

After the Kfar Saba-junction we can make out (on the right side of the highway) a domed ruin which is the tomb of a sheikh.

At 7.50am we arrive at the end of the highway (route 6) and turn into route 65 (westbound) towards Haifa and Hadera. 

On both sides of the road we see short bushes with white blossoms: the rotem (white broom).

As we approach Caesarea we see three huge chimneys ahead of us – the biggest structures in the Middle East: the power plant of Caesarea. Maybe city planners had in mind the great buildings that Herod the Great had built nearby….

The plant is powered by burning coal, but is built with the option to be powered by other commodities like oil. 

Before arriving in Caesarea we pass under route 2, the coastal highway, and drive through dunes and through the Neot-Caesarea-Golf-complex with its time-sharing apartments. To the right we see the golf course – the only 18-hole gold-course in Israel (next to a smaller 9-hole course in Gaash near Herzlia).

On the left is Kibbutz Sedot-Yam that has been founded in 1940. 

Around 8.30am we arrive at the national park of Caesarea at the entrance to the theatre. There are three different entries to the national park, this one – the entrance to the Roman Theatre – being the entrance where most groups start out because the Roman Theatre was crucial for spreading the Roman culture (further elaborations later).

Excavators 

Caesarea was excavated by several archaeologists between ca 1960 and 1979 (harbor and palace). The  two main archaeologists were Ehud Netzer and Lee I. Levine. The theater was completely uncovered by an Italian excavation team at Caesarea between 1959 and 1963Netzer returned to the site in 1990 and brought in a new American team led by Kathryn Gleason and Barbara Burrell under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1960, off the coast of Israel, Edwin Link, working in conjunction with Professors Charles Fritsch and I. Ben-Dor, began the underwater excavation of Caesarea Maritima. In 1979 the Caesarea Ancient Harbour Excavation Project (CAHEP) was formed by the Center of Maritime Studies of the University of Haifa to complete the work started at Caesarea in 1960 by Edwin Link. Professors Elisha Linder and Avner Raban of Haifa University were instrumental in the creation of CAHEP, an international scholarly consortium.

BEIT SHEARIM FIELD REPORT PART 3

BURIAL METHODS-Different burial methods through time:

In 1^st temple period the norm was for family burial caves. The belief was a communal resurrection of the dead. In Ezechiel Ch. 37 in the resurrection of the valley of the dry bones all of them come alive together. The cave had 3 benches; the bodies would be placed in order of arrival. When the 4^th body would come they would sweep the bones of the previous bodies with a broom and gather them in an opening in the center of the cave (the maasefa), thus providing a place for the new arrival. In Jerusalem in Ketef  Hinom, a cave was found with the bones of 69 bodies, women, men, children, The expression in the bible “neesaf al avotav” i.e., gathered with his ancestors, illustrates this method of burial.

2^nd Temple Period- Belief in private resurrection. Individuals were buried alone. Kuckim closed with a small stone, after a year bones were collected and placed into a small stone box: the Gluskema, an ossuary.

After the Bar Cochba revolt (132-5 CE) people were unsure as to whether somebody would gather the bones after the year, so they adopted the prevailing method of burial around them: the sarcophagus. It was a coffin made out of wood, stone or clay. It was the first and last place of rest of the deceased. It was popular in the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries.

Jews moved to Babylon, where the country was covered with sand, with no caves. Jews therefore buried the bodies directly on the ground. Now we follow this method.

In Tosefta, an Avoda Zara 4:3 state that whoever is buried in the Land of Israel is as if he was buried underneath the altar of the Temple.

“Cave of the Head of the Sydonian Synagogue”(26)- Presents a basalt door on its façade. 

Doors: the doors at the entrance of the cave were made of stone and they were decorated to imitate the wooden ones. They had panels, nailheads and knockers. Bolts locked them. The doors still turn on their hinges. Some of the main entrances are arches resting on pillars; some others are in the form of an arcade with three arches. This desire to imitate real life architecture followed the Roman concept that the real life of the person has two sequences: one in this world and another one at death. In Hebrew a cemetery is called Bet ha Haim, “The House of Lives”. Entrance to the caves reminds us to the entrance to a synagogue or church or a public building.

Continuing an upper path, we get to

“The Mausoleum of Justus and his family” – It is an enormous cave with modern explanations: Map of burials, display of doors found in the different caves, inscriptions and decorations and found in entrances.

 A good place to tell in detail the finding of the caves: Alexander Zaid was a shepherd. One of this sheep got lost and fell on this cave. Alexander found a sarcophagus and approached Nachman Avigad, then head of Antiquities in Hebrew University. They dug in 1926 and found an inscription in Greek letters: Besara. They understood that it was the Greek version of Bet Shearim, they decided to excavate. The Arab riots of 36-9  erupted and they had to stop. Then the State of Israel was established and after 1948, came for series of eleven excavations that finished in 1959. Three volumes were published.

An impressively large block of glass is on display. Sand is taken to a furnace with very high temperature; ten tons of raw material had to be heated to 1050 centigrade during 5 to 10 days to achieve this enormous raw glass mass.  Cave is a glass production center to produce glass bottles for anointing to stop the smell of the decomposing bodies.

“Cave of the Sages”(20)- It is the largest of the caves with hundreds of coffins, many bearing names of sages at the time.  It is 75 m. in both length and width, includes 2 long corridors in which many rooms branch off. 135 coffins were found. Some are huge coffins, with original paint. 

No bones were found: they disintegrated or were taken out by animals. Robbers were interested in ransacking the caves due to the belief in the Greco-Roman world that the dead went to the underworld Hades and had to cross the river Styx. They had to pay the boatman and at least one gold coin was placed under the tongue or on the eyeholes. Jews had not such belief and had no coins. (In Hebrew the phrase matbea lashon, ie, the coin of the tongue is an expression that means the accepted way of expression). In every sarcophagus here is a hole on the side that enabled the robber to enter his hand inside.

We also see a private room for a very wealthy person. The very large sarcophagus has the figure of a head of a bull, eagle and a lion. Although mistakenly it can be assumed that is a pagan decoration, by reading the bible we might draw a different conclusion. Ezechiel Ch. 1 describing the Chariot (mercaba) the throne of G-d rests on 4 figures: bull, eagle, lion and a person. Also the sarcophagus has 4 horns in the corners of the upper horizontal area, like in the altar of the temple.

Coffin of the Victories. –  Two winged women representing the Greek goddess of Victory: Nike. 

“The Cave of Jehuda Hanassi “(14)- Tripartite arched entrance

Among all the possible caves of the surrounding, the archeologists specified that this is the burial cave of Jehuda Hanassi based on 3 factors. Jehuda Hanassi died in Sippori on a Friday. He had left a will to his sons and his students with guidelines as to the form of burial, succession and commemoration.

1. Wanted to be buried on the ground (not on a sarcophagus). This is the only cave among all the surrounding ones that there is burial on the ground. His wife rests next to him. 
2. Appointed 2 of his sons, Shimon and Gamliel, and one of his disciples, Hanina, as successors. These three names are inscribed on the walls. It was a family cave.

Going out from the cave we turn around and go up on a hill that is over the cave. We find benches carved in stone arranged in shape of a U, open to the sky around a plastered central courtyard. An ideal meeting place for gatherings.

1. Commemoration of his memory. -He wanted that a learning place would be established over his burial 

        Ground. “Taamidu yeshiva al kivri ahar 30 yom”, “after 30 days establish a learning place on top of my burial place”. In the   Mishna there is a saying: “Ein osim nefashot la zadikim, divreihem, hem zicronam”. Nefesh at that time referred to the burial place. In Judaism the commemoration of a high-ranking holy rabbi is done not with a statue of his image but though the studying of his work.  This was the first place in the world were the Mishna was learned as we know it today.

The archaelogists first found the cave underground, and following the information in the written sources decided to excavate and clear the ground on top, finding this last confirmation as to the validity of the claim that this was the burial ground of the Nassi.

After his burial many people wanted to be buried near him. From being a Galilean village that served the burial needs of its community Bet Shearim became known all over Israel and the Diaspora. 

From travelers from the 10 th to the 15^th century that identified burial places of important persons, we received the tradition as to who is buried where. As the placement of Bet Shearim was completely unknown, abandoned and destroyed at that time, his burial ground was identified wrongly in the Sepphoris area. That poses a problem for the ultra-orthodox (haredim) that have writings from the rabbis of the 12^th century identifying the tomb of the Rabbi near Sepphoris, although the archeologists in the 20^th cent. have proof to the contrary. They don’t come here. The last couple of years are witness to an interesting phenomena: A Hilula on VavTet Kislev in Sepphoris is done by the Haredim and another one in the same date occurs in the National park attended by Bnei Akiva, the Keren Kayemet, etc, On both celebrations the writings of the Rabbi are studied. It is customary to read the psalms of David (Tehillim) at any grave of a respected figure and a loved one.

We continue walking and we find the same open-air structure on top of the cave of the Sages. Hanassi became a role model and 20, 30 yrs, after his death, other sages decided that they wanted the same form of commemoration for them.