Page 143 - A Walk to Caesarea / Joseph Patrich

A Walk to Caesarea: A Historical-Archaeological Perspective 129

the foundations of an external octagon that bore the walls and an internal octagon Fig. 147a–b
that supported the columns. Commonly accepted opinion in academic research is
that the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount drew its inspiration from Christian a. Today’s harbor, general
churches such as these. On the east are remains of colorful marble flooring panels. view from the west
Also found were fragments of columns and capitals that adorned the church. Further
east, on a lower level, is a large water reservoir. This large cluster may have included b. (next two pages)
the palace of the bishop–the metropolites of Caesarea. To the southwest, on the lower The harbor, general view
level and adjacent to the rear curvilinear wall of the tenemos, a small bathhouse was
exposed, that perhaps served the palace of the metropolites. A narrow stairway led from the east
upward from there. The bathhouse collapsed and ceased to be used only with the
earthquake of 749, more than one hundred years after the Muslim conquest.

Visible on the surface of the highest level above the octagonal church are walls
of different Muslim structures, including Fatimid ones with deep, square, stone-built
bins that are similar to the underground granaries of the Byzantine warehouses. Bins
such as these were also found in residences built over the clogged inner basin of the
harbor. They were probably intended for storing pepper seeds, not only grains. At
the summit, no identification has been made of remains of the magnificent Friday
mosque facing the sea, which is mentioned in the descriptions of al-Muqaddasi
(985) and of Nasir al-Khusraw (1047), prior to the Crusader conquest. Perhaps it
was removed during Crusader construction.

From the top of the hill, to the west of the temple and the octagonal church, is
a wonderful view of the harbor (Fig. 147a–b).

a