Digital Reconstruction of Caesarea Maritima: A Gallery of 11 Images (opens in new tab)

Caesarea Maritima was a bustling trading hub of the Eastern Mediterranean. Built on earlier ruins, the new metropolis was commissioned by Herod the Great (reign 37-4 BCE), and it became one of the most important trade centers of the day due to its colossal harbor. Herod's harbor was a fortress at sea which both facilitated trade in the Roman Empire and served a military purpose. Besides the harbor, the city had a temple, palaces, an amphitheater, a theater, paved streets, and waterworks.