Ancient Caesarea, conservation and development of a heritage site

Author

Fuhrmann-Naaman; Yael ; Porath; Yosef

Year

2017

Publisher

Israel Antiquities Authority / ____ _______

Language

English

Pages

ISBN

978-9-65406-672-3

Link

Last Update

18-Nov-2025

Keywords

Archaeology ; Art & Art History

Description

Ancient Caesarea was built during the time of Herod, King of Judea, on the Mediterranean coast in the northern part of the Sharon plain, with a large artificial harbor. The city was called Caesarea in honor of Herod’s patron, Octavian Caesar, and the harbor was named Sebastos, Greek for the title ‘Augustus.’ The city and the harbor were built in twelve years on the site of the Hellenistic city of Straton’s Tower (Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities 15, 331–341), midway between ‘Akko and Jaffa.

The western Sharon plain has three kurkar (calcareous sandstone) ridges parallel to the coast, between which...