Caesarea Maritima and its harbour
The administrative capital Acts moves Paul to was a real Roman harbour city, and its praetorium, theatre and breakwaters have been excavated.
Confirmed by the groundExcavated site22–10 BC
Herod's port city, built from nothing on an open coast, with a harbour made of hydraulic concrete poured into the sea — a technique Josephus describes and divers have since sampled. It was the seat of the Roman governors of Judaea, which is where Acts keeps sending Paul.
…and commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.
- Found
- Caesarea, Israel — land and underwater excavation, 1960 — Successive Israeli, Italian and American expeditions
- Now held at
- In place, Caesarea National Park
- How it reached us
- Dug up, or still standing where it was built.
What it shows
The city and its role are established. The Pilate stone was found in its theatre; nothing else here bears on individuals.
How historians use it
A major site in Roman provincial archaeology and in the history of concrete construction.
In Scripture
Connects to
Sources
- Raban & Holum (eds.), Caesarea Maritima: A Retrospective (1996)
These summaries are written in English for now. Translations follow.