Caesarea Maritima

Caesarea Maritima was Herod the Great's statement in stone: a deep-water harbour built out into an open coast, a theatre facing the Mediterranean, an aqueduct running north along the dunes. For centuries it served as the Roman administrative capital of Judea, and it is the stage for some of the most consequential scenes in Acts.

Here Peter entered the house of the centurion Cornelius and the gospel crossed openly into the Gentile world. Here Paul defended himself before Felix, Festus and Agrippa, and from this harbour he was shipped to Rome. The Pilate inscription found in the theatre is the only stone yet found bearing the prefect's name.