Ceasarea Aquaduct, Israel - #1894
Caesarea Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis, was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Roman Judaea, Syria Palaestina and Palaestina Prima, successively, for a period of c. 650 years and a major intellectual hub of the Mediterranean. Today, the site is part of the Caesarea National Park, on the western edge of the Sharon plain in Israel.
The site was first settled in the 4th century BCE as a Phoenician colony and trading village known as Straton's Tower after the ruler of Sidon. It was enlarged in the 1st century BCE under Hasmonean rule, becoming a Jewish village;[6] and in 63 BCE, when the Roman Republic annexed the region, it was declared an autonomous city. It was then significantly enlarged in the Roman period by the Judaean client King Herod the Great, who established a harbour and dedicated the town and its port to Caesar Augustus as Caesarea.
Constructed largely during the reign of King Herod the Great (37 – 4 BC), the aqueduct was a monumental undertaking that required immense resources and manpower. The exact date of completion is unknown, but the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus wrote that it was built along with Caesarea‘s harbor and other major public works in the late 1st century BC
The aqueduct originated at the springs of Shuni near Mount Carmel and stretched over 23 kilometers (14 miles) to Caesarea. Along its course, the conduit alternated between subterranean channels and elevated archways that crossed valleys and other low-lying areas. The Romans built the aqueduct using local kurkar stone, a type of limestone, cut into precise blocks and fitted tightly together without mortar. A special waterproof cement made from volcanic ash and lime was used to seal the joints and channel interiors.
Ceasarea Aquaduct, Israel - #1894
Caesarea Caesarea Maritima, Caesarea Palaestinae or Caesarea Stratonis, was an ancient and medieval port city on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, and later a small fishing village. It was the capital of Roman Judaea, Syria Palaestina and Palaestina Prima, successively, for a period of c. 650 years and a major intellectual hub of the Mediterranean. Today, the site is part of the Caesarea National Park, on the western edge of the Sharon plain in Israel.
The site was first settled in the 4th century BCE as a Phoenician colony and trading village known as Straton's Tower after the ruler of Sidon. It was enlarged in the 1st century BCE under Hasmonean rule, becoming a Jewish village;[6] and in 63 BCE, when the Roman Republic annexed the region, it was declared an autonomous city. It was then significantly enlarged in the Roman period by the Judaean client King Herod the Great, who established a harbour and dedicated the town and its port to Caesar Augustus as Caesarea.
Constructed largely during the reign of King Herod the Great (37 – 4 BC), the aqueduct was a monumental undertaking that required immense resources and manpower. The exact date of completion is unknown, but the Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus wrote that it was built along with Caesarea‘s harbor and other major public works in the late 1st century BC
The aqueduct originated at the springs of Shuni near Mount Carmel and stretched over 23 kilometers (14 miles) to Caesarea. Along its course, the conduit alternated between subterranean channels and elevated archways that crossed valleys and other low-lying areas. The Romans built the aqueduct using local kurkar stone, a type of limestone, cut into precise blocks and fitted tightly together without mortar. A special waterproof cement made from volcanic ash and lime was used to seal the joints and channel interiors.