The Biblical Archaeologist - Vol.46, N.3

68 Pages·1983·15.01 MB·English

by  American Schools of Oriental Research

Biblical
Archaeologist
Summer 1983 Volume 46 Number 3
Herod's Harbor
at Caesarea
JA/,
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.-
The American Schools of Oriental Research & St. Mary's University of San Antonio present a
Biblical and Graduate Tour of
Archaeological Study
Jordan, Israel, Sinai, Cyprus
June 26 - August 2, 1984
Cost: $3,600 per person Major Faculty: Charles H. Miller and Mary K Milne
Department of Graduate Theology, St. Mary'sU niversity
Guest Lecturers: ASOR Directors and active field archaeologists
Graduates tudentso f ASORin stitutionsa re eligible for six graduatec redit hoursf rom their own institutions,
if approvedb y their advisors.
For more information, contact the ASORC orporate Representative on your own campus or
Professor Charles H. Miller, St. Mary'sU niversity,
One Camino Santa Maria,S an Antonio, Texas 78284, [phone].
JSOT'I b Publish ASOR Monograph Series ,
The American Schools of Oriental Research and JSOTP ress are pleased to announce the
m
resumption of the ASOR Monograph Series. At least two monographs a year will be
published in the areas of ASOR's traditional interests, especially biblical studies and
ancient Near Eastern history and archaeology. Manuscripts are now being solicited for the
fourth and subsequent numbers in the series. Submit manuscripts to:
Eric M. Meyers
Editor, ASOR-JSOTM onograph Series
Box H.M.
Duke Station
Durham, NC 27706
Cover:
Divers engaged in archaeologicals tudy of Herod'sh arbora t CaesareaM aritima. The divers
are working near two of the massive stone blocks found at the seawarde nd of the north
breakwater-the smaller of the two artificial "enclosinga rms"t hat formed the harbor.T he
blocks are the remains of a significant structure,p ossibly a lighthouse. Artist: Lydell
Jackson.
VS OF 014
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Biblical
Zca
Summer 1983 rchaeo st Volume 46 Numbre 3
CRUSADERF ORTIFICATIONS
VAULTS
Page 140 Page 150 Page 184
133 SEBASTOSH, EROD'S 155 THE JACOBA ND LABAN 175 DECORATIVEG EOMETRIC
HARBORA T CAESAREA NARRATIVEI N LIGHT OF DESIGNSI N STON E-THE
MARITIMA NEAR EASTERNS OURCES REDISCOVERYO F A
RobertL . Hohlfelder,J ohn P. Oleson, MarthaA . Morrison TECHNIQUEO F ROMAN-
Avner Raban,a nd R. LindleyV ann A full appreciationo f the story told in BYZANTINEC RAFTSMEN
The authors reporto n recent excava- Genesis 29:15 to 31:55 requiresa n RobertH ouston Smith
tions conducteda t this important understandingo f herdinga nd marriage Even if illiterate, ancient artisans were
Mediterraneans ite. contractsa nd the role of household
able to execute sophisticatedl inear
gods in the ancient Near East. patternsi n carvingso r mosaics by the
145 ENIGMATICB IBLE
astute use of compass and straightedge.
PASSAGES 167 ENIGMATICB IBLE
God Writes a Rude Letter PASSAGES 187 BA
PORTRAIT.
(Jeremiah2 9:1-23) 2 Corinthians 10:13-16 A Scholar and Gentleman:
William L. Holladay Illuminated by a Recently James Alan Montgomery
Jeremiah'lse tter, which is also a letter Published Inscription Cyrus H. Gordon
from Yahweh,u ses ancient letter- James E Strange Energetica nd reserved,M ontgomery
writing conventions to make an A key word in this passageh as long was an important figure in Hebraic
importantp oint. vexed commentators. studies in the first part of this
century.
147 WAST HE COIN-ON-EYE 169 "SILVERG, OLD,A ND
CUSTOMA JEWISHB URIAL PRECIOUSS TONESF ROM DEPARTMENTS
PRACTICEI N THE SECOND HAZOR"I N A NEW MARI 130 INTRODUCINGT HE AUTHORS
TEMPLEP ERIOD? DOCUMENT 132 LETTERT O THE READERS
Rachel Hachlili and Ann Killebrew AbrahamM alamat 1.90 BOOK. R EVIEWS
The authors evaluate the archaeologi- Highwayr obberyi n the eighteenth Cameron, The Other Gospels: Non-
ocaftle env bideeennc cei ftoedr ain p rsuacptpicoert tho af tt hhea ss ug- cfreonmtu trhye B M:. aisr it ahrec shuivbejset chta otf itsh e letter WCaeninognriceaeln G,I notsrpoedl uTcetxiotns ( tHo etdhrei ck??
gestion that the images detected over discussed in this article. Critical Study of the Text of the
the eyes of the figure on the Shroudo f Hebrew Bible (Greenspoon);
Turina re coins. Boardman,T he Greeks Overseas::
Their Early Colcnies and T7ade
(Leonard).
192 BOOKSR ECEIVED
Biblical Archaeologist is published with the financial assistance of
Zion Research Foundation, a nonsectarian foundation for the study of the Bible
and the history of the Christian Church.
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST'SUMMER1 983 129
Introducing the Authors
Robert Houston Smith holds the Fox Professorshipa t the Centre, Massachusetts. He is the editor of A Concise
College of Woosteri n Ohio. Since 1966 he has directed Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament
Wooster'se xcavations at Pella of the Decapolis, a major (Brill and Eerdmans, 1971)a nd author of Jeremiah,
archaeologicalp rogrami n Jordanb eing conducted jointly Spokesman Out of Time (Pilgrim, 1974), Isaiah, Scroll of
with The University of Sydney,A ustralia, and funded a Prophetic Heritage (Eerdmans,1 978), and numerous
largely by the National Endowment for the Humanities articles. At present he is preparingt he Jeremiahv olume
and the National Geographic Society. He is author of for the Hermeneia commentary series published by
Pella of the Decapolis (The College of Wooster, 1973) Fortress.
and coauthor of the recent excavation report on the
1979-1981 seasons at Pella (1982). His interests also in- Robert L. Hohlfelder is Professoro f History at the Univer-
clude professional ethics, American local history, sity of Coloradoi n Boulder.H e has been actively involved
religious studies, and literature. In 1981 his Patches of in underwatera rchaeologyf or twenty years and from
Godlight: The Pattern of Thought of C. S. Lewis was 1979 to the present has co-directedt he CaesareaA ncient
published by the University of Georgia Press. HarbourE xcavationP roject,w hich he says, enthusiasti-
cally, "is now the largest of its kind in the world!'
Martha A. Morrison is Assistant Professoro f Classical
and Oriental Studies and Petrie Term Assistant Professor Abraham Malamat is a leading expert on the subject of
of University Studies at BrandeisU niversity. She is the Israelite history in the biblical period. In his work he has
Academic Director of the Land of GerarE xpedition, an championed a contextualist view, focusing upon the
archaeological project sponsored by the Ben Gurion interplay between the Bible and other ancient Near
University of the Negev. She writes, "Nuzi has long been Eastern source materials, in particular the Mesopota-
one of my major research interests, and currently I am mian documents from Mari on the Euphrates.H e is a
working on the publication of over 500 Nuzi tablets, prolific writer of scholarly articles in both Hebrew and
most of the remaining documents from the main mound English. His extensive treatment of early Israelite history
at Nuzi." She is coeditor with David Owen of Studies on in English appearedi n A History of the Jewish People,
the Civilization and Culture of Nuzi and the Hurrians part one, "Originsa nd the FormativeP eriod"( Harvard
(Eisenbrauns,1 981),t he second volume of which will ap- University Press, 1976), while a few months ago his
pear in the fall of 1983. Hebrew book appearedo n Israel in Biblical Times
(Historical Essays) (Jerusalem,1 983).
Rachel Hachlili and Ann Killebrew have jointly pub-
lished several articles on the Jewish cemetery of the James F. Strangeh olds two positions at the University of
Second Temple period at Jericho.T heir work has con- South Florida in Tampa;h e is both Dean of the College
tributed to a better understandingo f Jewish burial of Arts and Letters and Professori n the Department of
customs during this time. In respect to the coin-on-eye Religious Studies. His archaeological experience is exten-
custom featured in this issue they state: "Wef eel that sive, including excavations at Tell er-Ras,K hirbet el-Kom,
because so many of the arguments regardingt his custom Caesarea, and Khirbet Shemac. In 1982 he launched a
and the Turin Shroud have been based on a misunder- new project- surveying Cana of Galilee and Sepphoris,
standing of the Jerichoe vidence, it is important to state the capital of lower Galilee. Dr. Strangeh as coauthored
our opinion and to set the record straight by publishing several books, most recently Archaeology, the Rabbis,
all the data."H achlili received her Ph.D. in archaeology and Early Christianity (with Eric M. Meyers;A bingdon,
from Hebrew University, Jerusalem.S he directed the ex- 1981), and has published numerous articles on the
cavations at the ancient cemetery of Jericho,a nd is at subject of biblical archaeology.
present co-directoro f the excavation at the Kazrin
synagogue in the Golan Heights. She is currently en- Cyrus H. Gordon is Professoro f Hebrew and Director of
gaged (with Y. Meshorer)i n the project of establishing the Center for Ebla Research at New YorkU niversity. He
"the Reuben and Edith Hecht Museum"f or Archaeology has made major contributions to the study of Ugaritic
and Art at the University of Haifa. Killebrew is working language, most notably his Ugaritic Textbook (Pontifical
on a graduated egree in archaeology at Hebrew Univer- Biblical Institute, 1967), and is well known for his com-
sity. She has excavated at Deir el-Balah,T el Akko, Tel parative studies on the Old Testament and the ancient
Miqne, Tel Beth Shan, and was co-directora t the Kazrin Mediterraneanw orld. Dr. Gordon has written extensive-
synagogue excavations. ly, for both popular and scholarly audiences, on various
aspects of the ancient Near East.
William L. Holladay is Lowry Professoro f Old Testament
at AndoverN ewton Theological School in Newton
130 BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SUMMER1 983
0
P.
" James F Strange Martha A. Morrison
0K I 4.
Cyrus Gordon
H.
11,
Rachel Hachlili
Abraam Walllaimat L Holada Roert . Hhl~lde
- 4
Ann Killebrew
Robert Houston Smith
Al
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SUMMER1 983 131
SO,F ,.
Letter to the Readers
Biblical (0;
Herod
Archaeologist the Greath asb eenc alled" undoubtedtlhye
greatest builder Palestine has ever known."I n
Editor Jerusalemh e rebuilt the Temple, constructed a
Eric M. Meyers magnificent palace, and undertook several other
Associate Editor projects including the construction of the three great towers he
JamesW . Flanagan
called Phasael, Hippicus, and Mariamne. By his efforts Jerusa-
ManagingE ditor
Martin Wilcox lem became one of the most impressive capitals in the eastern
Assistant to the Editor Roman Empire.
KarenS . Hoglund His accomplishments throughoutt he rest of the country
Book Review Editor are also notable. Among these are the palace-fortresso f Hero-
Peter B. Machinist
dium and the palaces at Jericho,B etharamathaS, epphoris,a nd
EditorialC ommittee
CaroleF ontaine Ascalon. He also strengthened the fortresses of Hyrcania,
VolkmarF ritz Alexandrium, and Masada;b uilt small towns like Phasaelis
LDaawvirdeM nc. GTe .u Gnenr aty and Cypros; and rebuilt the city of Samaria, renaming it
A. T. Kraabel Sebaste.
BaruchA . Levine His crowning achievement, however, was the construction
CarolL . Meyers of Caesarea Maritima and its harbor facility, which he called
JohnW ilkinson
Art Director Sebastos. Caesarea became one of the major cities of Palestine.
SusanL eeb It rivaled and in some respects surpassed Jerusalem. Completed
Layout in around 9 B.C.t,h e city was striking architecturally.I t featured
LindaH uff
a temple dedicated to Augustus, a royal palace, a theater by the
EditorialA ssistants
sea, and a mile-long thoroughfare-the Cardo Maximus-that
Amy-JilLl evine
JayG eller was fifty-four feet wide and lined with seven hundred columns.
SubscriptionMs anager Caesarea was significant for more than its architecture of
HariniK umar course. It was also historically important. For instance, Paul was
AdvertisinSga les imprisoned there before being sent to Rome. After the destruc-
AllanE . ShuberCt ompany
198 Allendale Road tion of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 it became the Roman capital of
K21i5n-go2 f6 P5r-u06ss4i8aP ,A 1 9406 Palestine and the residence of the Roman procurators.I t was
the base of operations for the Roman armies during the Jewish
Biblical Archaeologist (ISSN 0006-0895) is published revolts of A.D. 66-70 and 132-135. Origen, a prominent biblical
qicuaanr tSecrhlyo o(Wls ionft Oerr,S iepnrtianlg R, Seusemarmcehr J, AFaSlOl)R by),a t hneo nApmroefri-t , scholar of the early church lived and taught there for twenty-
ntroantsiveec toafrfiiacnes e adtu 4c2a4ti3o nSaplr uorcge aSntrizeaetti,o Pnh wiliatdhe lapdhmiai,n PisA- three years; Eusebius, the father of church history, was bishop
d1e9n1c0e4 .s Shuobusldcr bipet isoenn to rtod eArSs aOnRd Saullb bsucrsiinpetisosn c Soerrrveiscpeosn, - of Caesarea from A.D. 313 to 340. The city was captured by the
4su2b43sc Sripprtuiocne Sratrteees:t ,$ P1h6i ilna dtehlep hUi.aS, .P, UA. S19. p1o0s4s. eAsnsinounas,l Moslems in the seventh century A.D. The Crusaders occupied
arantde sC faonra sdtuad; $en18ts f oarnedig rne.t iSrpedec fiaacl ualntyn:u $a1l 0s uinb stchrei pUti.Son., the city from about A.D. 1100 to 1265. And there are many more
fUo.rS s. tpuodsesnest soiorn rse,t iarnedd fCaacunlatdya r;a $t1e2s ,f soernedig an .c (oTpoy q oufa ali fy examples that could be listed. (Fora nyone interested in this
dsioncgulem iesnsut etsh:a $t 5v einri ftihees Uyo.Su.r, cUu.rSr. epnots ssteastsuiosn.)s C, uarnrde nt subject, I recommend Studies in the History of Caesarea
Cthaen Uad.Sa.;, $U6. Sfo. rpeoisgsne.s Ssitoundse, natns da nCda rneatdirae;d $ 5fa fcourletyig:n $.4 in Maritima, edited by Charles T. Fritsch; this book was published
MArecmhabeeorlso ogfi sAt SaOs oRn aeu otfo mthaetiirc aanllny uraelc meiveme Bbeibrlsihciapl in 1975 by Scholars Press for the American Schools of Oriental
benefits.
Research and is number 19 in the series of supplemental
Article proposals, manuscripts, letters to the editor, and
all other editorial correspondence should be sent to the studies to the Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental
Office,B oxH M,D ukeS tation,D urhamN, C 27706. Research.)
Unsolicited manuscripts must be accompanied by a
self addressed, stamped envelope bearing the proper Caesarea is thus an important archaeological site, and we
return postage. Foreign contributors should furnish
international reply coupons. are pleased to feature an article on recent work at Sebastos in
BMoaockhsi nfoisrt r, eDveiepwa rsthmoeunldt obfe Oserniet nttoa lD Srt.u Pdeiteesr, BT.h e this issue of BA. We think you will find "Sebastos, Herod's Har-
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721. bor at Caesarea Maritima" interesting and well worth study.
Composition by ProType,I nc., Chapel Hill, NC.
Printed by Fisher-HarrisonC orporation, Durham, NC.
Second-class postage paid at Philadelphia, PA 19104 and
additional offices.
Postmaster: Send address changes to ASOR Subscrip-
tion Services, 4243 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA Martin Wilcox
19104.
Copyright ? 1983 by the American Schools of Oriental Managing Editor
Research.
132 BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SUMMER1 983
StOS
S6B1
Herod's Harbor at Caesarea Maritima
by RobertL . HohifelderJ, ohn R Oleson, AvnerR aban,a nd R. LindleyV ann
n the year2 2 B.Co. r shortly until about 37 A.D. and therefore ture of the new city. He tells us
thereafter, at a point approx- wasn't a witness to the actual con- that the engineers literally had to
imately midway between struction of Caesarea and Sebastos, carve this facility from an uncom-
modem Haifa and Tel Aviv, his texts provide a vivid and fairly promising coastline that was devoid
Herod began construction of his complete picture of the major fea- of any significant topographical
magnificent new metropolis, Cae- tures of both (The Jewish War, features such as a cape or bay-
sarea Maritima, and its unparal- 1.408-414; Jewish Antiquities, features that up until that time had
leled port facility, Sebastos. The XV.331-341).H e records a range of been prerequisite for a harbor site.
location selected for Caesarea and municipal and civic structures The building of Sebastos was also
Sebastos offered innumerable natu- common to a major Roman city impeded by frequent, heavy storms
ral problems. There were, for in- and provincial capital. The most that plagued that part of the Levan-
stance, an unstable coastline and an important section of his descrip- tine coast. Moreover,t he strong,
inadequate supply of drinking tion, however, is on the construc- sand-laden longshore current
water; in addition, a current run- tion of Sebastos, which he calls the assured that erosion and siltation
ning from south to north along the most impressive architectural fea- would be problems.
shore (a longshore current) con-
stantly carried a great deal of sedi-
ment. Despite these problems the
engineers in Herod's service worked
quickly and with consummate
skill. By about 10 or 9 B.C.t he city
and its harbor were completed.
Because of the size and gran-
deur of Sebastos, Caesarea Mari-
tima immediately became a major
international emporium in the
eastern Mediterranean- a role it
was to maintain intermittently for
the next 600 years. Sebastos itself
had technological features found
nowhere else in the world. At the
time of its completion it was not
only the largest Levantine harbor
but also one that showed a mari-
time engineering sophistication
that can only be called modern.
Josephus on Sebastos
We are most fortunate to have a
Aerial view of Sebastos from the west. The dark areas in the foregrounda re the submerged
detailed description of the city and remains of the two large breakwaters ("enclosinga rms")t hat formed the harbor. The
port in the writings of the historian modern harbor, shown in the upper right, is much smaller than the ancient one.
Josephus.A lthough he wasn't born Photographi s used courtesy of Caesarea Museum of Kibbutz Sdot Yam.
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SUMMER1 983 133
A roughly circular harbor was recordedb y Josephus (for instance, location of Sebastos was firmly es-
created by extending two break- the lowering of huge stones into tablished. As recently as 1950 the
waters out from the shore, which open water) could easily be chal- large bay to the south of the
runs north-south. The south break- lenged by scholars. No earlier ex- Herodian harbor complex had been
water initially ran due west but amples of such advanced tech- identified as Sebastos itself
curved to the north at its seaward nology are known. There also was (Reifenberg1 950-51).P reliminary
end. The smaller and shorter north no way Josephus could have dimensions and assessments of the
breakwatere xtended out straight checked the oral accounts or writ- configuration of the port had also
west to about 20 to 30 meters from ten reports of the harbor construc- been advanced. Fritsch and Ben-
the end of the south breakwater. tion; nor would he have examined Dor, who were not divers them-
The entrance to the harbor was the configuration of the undersea selves, were restricted in their
thus from the north. sections of Sebastos. Yet it appears study of the actual submerged re-
These two "enclosing arms" from the results of recent excava- mains. On the basis of divers'
were actually composite structures reports and artifacts recovered,t hey
(and the discussion of them can postulated that the harbor complex
sometimes be slightly confusing Josephus' descrip- had been damaged by an earth-
because the term breakwater is tion of Sebastos is quake early in its history (A.D. 130)
also applied to one part of the com- and perhaps had not been rebuilt.
posite). According to Josephus,t he Such an analysis accorded well
the only surviving
two arms (or at least the main, with the testimony of Procopius of
southern one) were built by lower- eyewitness account Gaza, who had reported early in the
ing huge stones 50 feet long, by 10 sixth century A.D.o n the ruinous
feet wide, by 9 feet deep and larger of an ancient harbor state of the harbor facilities prior to
into depths of 20 fathoms. When a that time and on a renovation of
platform 200 feet wide finally stood on the Levantine Sebastos by the emperor Anastasius
above the surface of the sea, it was probably shortly after A.D. 502
coast.
then divided into sections. The ('Panegyricusi n ImperatoremA nas-
seawardo r southwestern-western tasium" in Patrologiae Cursus Com-
face, with a width of 100 feet, was tions that his descriptions are re- pletus, Series Graeca Prior, vol. 87,
left as a breakwater( prokumatia). markably accurate, excepting his pt. 3, pp. 2817-18).
A wall adorned with towers seems overestimate of water depths in the Furtheru nderwater investiga-
to have run the length of the arm. harbor (5 to 10 meters and not tions on the site were conducted by
The inner portion of this wall ap- 20 fathoms). the Undersea Exploration Society of
parently contained various support Israel and the Center for Maritime
buildings constructed into it. The Underwater Explorations Studies of the University of Haifa
landward (or inner) component of and Their Results in the 1960s and early 1970s. The
the arm was finished as a loading Underwater explorations of the most significant of these efforts
quay, which Josephus assures us submerged sections of Sebastos be- was an extensive coastal survey
was a pleasant place to walk. gan in the summer of 1960. During conducted in 1975 by the Center
At the entrance to the harbor June of that year a pioneer effort in for Maritime Studies under the
there stood six colossi, three on ei- the field of maritime archaeology direction of Avner Raban
ther side. The three statues to the was undertaken. Edwin Link (Flemming, Raban, and Goetschel
east (the port side for entering formed a team of professional 1978). The data collected during
ships) stood on a huge tower. The divers under the direction of this research indicated the presence
ones to the west were supported by Charles T. Fritsch and Immanuel of at least one major fault line off
two upright stones. Ben-Dor to begin the systematic in- the coast of Caesarea, about 150
This description provided by vestigation of structural remains off meters from the present shoreline
Josephus is the only eyewitness ac- the coast of Caesarea. Using as a and west of the terminus of the
count of an ancient harbor on the base a vessel (the Sea Diver) built modern south breakwater. Tectonic
Levantine coast that has survived specifically for oceanographicr e- activity along the coast of Israel
and is one of the most detailed search, the Link expedition over the many centuries since the
among the very few that reach us achieved several significant results construction of Sebastos has re-
from all of antiquity. Its credibility, which were reported to the readers sulted in the compaction, slump-
however, would seem to be partly of BA in 1961 (Fritsch and Ben-Dor ing, or subsidence (that is, sinking)
questionable. The engineering feats 1961). For the first time, the precise of 5 to 6 meters for all of the struc-
134 BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SUMMER1 983
c:---;~i
1-,, r/ K.
D
. AREA
NORTH BREAKWATER
C-
\ HARBORE NTRANCE
SOUTH BREAKWATER
HARBOR
BASINREAK ATER
SCLRN BREAKWATERM
jbo14 CRUSADER
\% ANDW ALL 5J
ATT "R
SCALEMETER
6100 VmXT
0
----------1
Io
l 4K
-140
.ULTS
Plan of the harbor complex at Caesarea Maritima.
tures seaward or west of this fault they could have known of the exist- with the Center for Maritime
line. To the east, the process ap- ence of a fault line bisecting the Studies. This survey confirmed
pears to have had negligible impact. chosen location of Sebastos. Its points of archaeological interest
This subsidence, and not a major presence doomed the ancient har- and identified locations for future
increase in sea level since antiquity, bor from the moment of its com- excavation (Hohlfelder and
is responsible for the submergence pletion. Within decades, sections Oleson 1980).
of significant sections of Sebastos. of it began to sink beneath the In 1979 the Caesarea Ancient
As we shall see, the ancient engi- waves. HarbourE xcavation Project
neers could and did anticipate A final preliminary reconnais- (CAHEP)w as initiated by Avner
many of the natural problems in- sance of the submerged sections of Raban and Elisha Linder,a lso of
herent in the site that Herod the harbor facilities was undertaken the Center for Maritime Studies, to
selected for his city and its harbor. in 1978 for the Joint Expedition to complete the systematic explora-
There was no way, however, that Caesarea Maritima in conjunction tions of all of the maritime
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SUMMER1 983 135
facilities. The University of Col- The entrance to this secondary
orado joined that season as an in- There was probably harbor was immediately to the
stitutional member with Robert L. south of the tower through a chan-
an inner harbor,
Hohlfelder serving as co-director.I n nel 20 to 30 meters wide and pos-
1980 and 1981 excavations were not mentioned by sibly even wider. While the tower
conducted at various locations marked the northern limit of the
within the Herodian harbor com- Josephus but con- mouth of the basin, the southern
plex. During the 1981 season John terminus was the large promontory
P. Oleson of the University of Vic- nected to the harbor in whose lee the inner harbor had
tfoierlida walosrok s.e Rrv. eLdi nads lae yc Vo-adnirne ocft othr oef he describes by a btheiesn e cnocnlosstreudc bteadsi.n It s itsi llp oesxsiisbteled tlhaatet
University of Maryland joined channel. in the first century B.C. and perhaps
CAHEP as the project'sa rchitect. provided one of the reasons this
Both of these universities became particular section of coastline
institutional members of CAHEP was selected by Herod for his new
in the spring of 1982. CAHEP con- 14 dating of organic marine life un- city.
tinues to operate under the aegis of covered, indicate that at the time of How long the inner harbor was
the Center for Maritime Studies the construction of Caesarea used cannot yet be ascertained. It
with Avner Raban of that institu- Maritima, the MediterraneanS ea would appearf rom the pottery finds
tion serving as project head. The extended east to the point of this in the test probe along the podium
following is a brief report of some trial trench. This seawall, which that the basin enjoyed a short life.
of the results of this consortium's exists at the foot of a stairway Pottery from the Late Roman and
investigations of Sebastos through leading down from the Augustan Early Byzantine periods of Caesa-
the 1981 season. temple, was probably the eastern rea'sh istory was found in the upper
segment of an inner basin not men- strata of the trench. It may be that
The Design and Construction tioned by Josephus but connected the whole basin had been filled in
of Sebastos to the harbor he describes by a deliberately during the Roman era
Explorations of the submerged channel (Rabana nd Linder 1978). or allowed to silt up over the years.
structures of Sebastos and related The western limit of this en- Roman Caesarea had no need for
coastal buildings have confirmed closed facility was also uncovered the vast harbor complex of the
the essential accuracy of the ac- by investigators from the Center for Herodian city. Herod's idea that the
counts of Josephus.A lthough his Maritime Studies and confirmed by city should be the emporium for all
descriptions are incomplete in CAHEP.A pproximately 100 meters eastern trade was not shared by the
numerous aspects, the details and west of the test trench in the inner Romans (Hohlfelder and Raban
the overall view that he provides harbor and 20 meters from the pres- 1981). The outer harbor and the
are not inconsistent with the ent shoreline, a circular tower of secondary anchorages north and
emerging archaeological record. ashlar blocks was discovered in south (which are discussed below)
The master plan of Sebastos, about 1 meter of water (see harbor would have been sufficient for the
however, is far more complex than plan, number 5). From its design, needs of the Roman city.
Josephus suggests. The harbor de- the materials used for its construc- The original size and design of
scribed by him is but one compo- tion, and the ceramic material this inner basin can only be conjec-
nent of an extensive facility. Land found during underwatere xcava- tured. To ascertain its dimensions,
excavations conducted by Avner tions around its lower courses, the extensive excavations would have to
Raban within the Crusader fortress, tower appearst o predate Herod's be undertaken at various points
east of the present shoreline about metropolis and can best be asso- within the inner harbor. Since nu-
80 meters, and at the base of the ciated with an earlier settlement merous shops and restaurants for
podium of the Augustan temple, known to have existed along this tourists are now in the locations
uncovered the vertical face of an an- section of the Levantine coast, a where such excavations would have
cient seawall (see harbor plan and settlement identified by Josephus as to be conducted, such an archaeo-
plan of south bay, number 6). The Strato'sT ower.I t seems likely that logical survey is impossible at pres-
blocks of this wall are distin- this circular tower, and a north- ent. All one can do is estimate the
guished by the presence of marine south seawall that must have been working space of the enclosed har-
life to a height of about 0.20 meters associated with it, provided the bor based on the natural configura-
above the present sea level. Data western definition of the inner tion of the coastline and the pres-
from this probe, including carbon- basin. ence of ancient structures from
136 BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SUMMER1 983