Archaeology: Caesarea Maritima

Since the 1950s, excavations have turned up most of Herod’s harbor, as well as city streets, a theater, marketplace, shops, aqueducts, temples, and private dwellings. The excavations of Caesarea illustrate how important this city was in Jesus’ and Paul’s day.

Caesarea is where Peter first won Gentile converts (Acts 10), and was the site of Paul’s imprisonment (Acts 23-26). It was also the home of the Roman governors, such as Pontius Pilate. The city began as Herod’s dream and grew into Roman Palestine’s major port and governmental center. It is thought that King Herod Agrippa I was smitten of God in the theater (Acts 12:23).

Kyle Campbell