Caesarea is the largest Roman ruin in Israel today. It was built by Herod The Great, an ambitious puppet of the Romans, who was appointed as king of Judea by Rome. This city had a huge chariot race track, a theatre, aqueducts, and an artificial harbor that's underwater today. This harbor was built by Herod in order to create for himself an international city with direct links to Rome.

Herod also built other impressive monuments in Judea, including Masada, The Cave Of The Patriarchs, and he upgraded The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

This virtual tour and documentary explores the ancient history and archaeology of this fascinating place, from its founding by Herod, its use as a Roman provincial capital, the harbor's role in the war between the Romans and the Jews, the spread of Christianity out of this port, and the harbor's demise by a natural disaster that happened hundreds of kilometers away.



Drone Shots by: Lior Patel, Dave Primov, Ruslan K Photo

Image Credits:

“Caesarea Harbor, 1st3rd centuries AD, Looking Southeast” by Balage Balogh, Archaeology Illustrated.

3D reconstruction of Caesarea and the harbor by Pen & Paper.

Reconstruction of the building technique of the harbor by Ilyada Karabulut.

“An historical map of Roman Empire and the neighbouring barbarous nations to the year of our Lord four hundred, when the empire began to be rent with foreign invasions” by Thomas Bowles, from The New York Public Library, is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain

“Augustus of Prima Porta”, Vatican Museums, is licensed under CCBYSA 3.0

“Mosaic with Scenic Masks”, Capitoline Museums, is licensed under CC BYSA 2.0

“Nenning Roman Villa and Mosaics” by Time Travel Rome, is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Land of Canaan”, from The New York Public Library, is licensed under CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain

“Pontius Pilate Inscription” by BR Burton, is licensed under CC0 1.0

“Portrait of Josephus Flavius”, Rijks Museum, is licensed under CC0 1.0

“The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by The Romans under the command of Titus”, by David Roberts, is licensed under CC0 1.0

“Harbor Scene with Saint Paul’s Departure from Caesarea”, by Jan Brueghel the Elder, is licensed under CC0 1.0

“Ethnographic Studies and Roman Gods” by Alexander Anderson, From The New York Public Library, is licensed under CC0 1.0

“Anatolian Plate” by Mike Norton, is licensed under CC BYSA 3.0


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