A look above and below the surface at Ancient/Modern Caesarea

by Ryan George

Kicking yellow diving fins in the sapphire-blue water of what was King Herod’s ancient harbor, I see the remnants of a Roman ship emerge from the depths. Nearby lie the remains of another wreck; a steamer used to bring illegal Jewish immigrants to these shores after WWII. The detritus of history in the waters off Caesarea span over two millenia.

A powerhouse of commerce, the city and harbor of Caesarea were built between 25-13 BCE, during the reign of King Herod. The harbor was the largest and most modern in the Roman Empire, employing construction methods not used again until the Renaissance. A massive curved sea wall erected on concrete foundations created an anchorage of epic proportion. Towers were set at intervals along the wall and magnificent sculptures heralded the stream of entering ships. In the Jewish city on shore, built according to Roman architectural convention, traders bought and sold goods from Europe, Asia and Africa. Caesarea passed through many hands throughout its history, from its Roman/Jewish procurators, to Arab and Crusader conquerors and eventually back to the Jews and the modern State of Israel.

Juggling the centuries

Looking towards the Beijing 2008 Olympics in water sports; Israel’s expected qualifiers: 470 Dinghy, Men’s 470 Dinghy, Women’s Windsurfing, Men’s (gold-2004, bronze-1996) Windsurfing, Women’s Laser Radial, Women’s Swimming, varied Sculls (Rowing), Men’s (silver-2000) Israel has the highest per capita number of qualified scuba divers in the world.

Today the old mingles effortlessly with the new, as relics of the city’s ancient past lie enmeshed in its prosperous present. A completely intact Roman theater hosts  the likes of Jethro Tull, Emma Shapplin and Zubin Mehta conducting the Israel Philharmonic. Two well-preserved ancient aqueducts near the beach provide shade for picnickers. Restaurants du jour are nestled amongst the Crusader stones of the city. Adjacent to the ruins is the new city of Caesarea, a burgeoning upscale community with private homes just walking distance from the beach, while a bit further inland is the Caesarea Industrial Park, home to some of Israel’s auspicious hi-tech startups.

Throwing out their lines for sea bass and halibut, fishermen line the breakwater. On a small, white-sand beach nearby, a couple relaxes in the shade of a Crusader citadel. Meanwhile, divers and snorkelers explore the newly-opened underwater archaeological park, whose trails and sites are marked by signposts in the water. The 45-acre underwater enclosure is strewn with the remains of ships from as far back as before the Phoenicians, 3,000 years ago.

Riding the Waves

These waters were the training ground for windsurfer Gal Fridman, who, to the delight of his countrymen, soared first over the finish line in the 2004 Athens Olympics - Israel’s first gold. Fridman is hardly unique in his passion here - every day dozens of skiffs and surfers whip along the shore. The waters continue to spawn international champions in sailing, kite-surfing, rowing and windsurfing.

Ancient port of Caesarea Photo credit: Ryan George

Home advertised for sale in Caesarea

The Sands of Refuge

Kibbutz Sdot Yam was also home to Hannah Senesh, an Israeli poet and paratrooper who landed behind German lines in Hungary during WWII to try to save fellow Jews. Senesh was tortured by the Nazis, but would not reveal the identities of her fellow agents before she was executed.

Roman Acqeduct

Drilling markers for the underwater archaelogical park. Photo Credit: Itamar Grinberg

Anchor from a Phonecian shipwreck. Photo Credit: Itamar Grinberg

Her actions became a symbol of true courage, and her poem Walking to Caesarea is well-known by Israelis and many abroad under the title My God, My God (Eli, Eli). The kibbutz built a museum commemorating her life, her poetry and the period.

On the sands near Senesh’s home, a small remnant of the Jews she tried to save were smuggled in after WWII. Still under the British Mandate, Jewish immigration was illegal. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were clamoring to come, and only hundreds were permitted. All along the coast, rickety ships moored surreptitiously as their human cargo of Jewish survivors and DPs swam to shore, accompanied by members of the Palmach who whisked them off to safe hiding.

Secrets of the Sands

This part of the coast has been a center for seafaring and ship-building for 5000 years. “There’s not a dive where we don’t discover something the sands had covered,” says Kurt Raveh, a marine archaeologist and researcher at Haifa University who has been excavating this area for three decades. This year, teams of marine archaeologists, graduate students and volunteer divers will excavate wrecks from the Islamic period, and perhaps the remains of a 3,000-year-old ship from the period of King Solomon.

In 2004, Raveh’s dog, paddling around the site, came across what appeared to be the remains of a ship. It was soon examined and parts of it were carbon-dated to the 9th century BCE. It contained a 2.5 ton stone anchor, approximately 8.2’ long and 6.5’ wide-believed to be the largest ever discovered. The current and the sand swiftly obscured the ship and anchor again until “last week when we uncovered it once more,” says an excited Raveh.

“This strip of coast is a cemetery of ancient wrecks,” says Raveh. “We have found 28 wrecks spanning a period from King Solomon until Napoleon, carrying every type of cargo that you can imagine.” Other finds have included a Hellenistic warship, cannon, muskets and ammunition from Napoleon’s army, as well as vessels made by the Canaanites, Byzantines, Persians and French.

As the sun hangs in the midday heat over the lagoon, wisps of clouds drift along the horizon. The sands are silent; yet for those who choose to dig into the past, their secrets can be slowly coaxed from them.

Ryan George is a freelance travel journalist living in Tel Aviv.