Introduction

CAESAREA MARITIMA was a port city located on the coast of Iudaea, founded in the late first century BCE by Herod the Great (Netzer 2006, 94-96). In 6 CE it became the capital of the Roman province of Iudaea, and flourished as the center of the Roman administration and a metropolis that played host to merchants, diplomats, travelers, and thinkers from across the Mediterranean and Near Eastern worlds. The archaeological remains of the Roman-period city are well-known because of excavations at the site since the 1970’s. These excavations uncovered the harbor, fortification walls, the palace of Herod, the headquarters of the Roman procurator (governor), a hippodrome for horse racing, temples, an aqueduct, multiple warehouses, a bath building, and churches (Raban and Holum 1996). In addition, an immense amount of material culture has been found in and around the site, including coins, sculpture, inscriptions, and pottery.