Page 167 - A Walk to Caesarea / Joseph Patrich

A Walk to Caesarea: A Historical-Archaeological Perspective 153

about 3.5 m wide. A colonnade apparently stood on the top of the seating array;
the total external height is estimated at 25 m. The lower rows of seats, preserved
for the city dignitaries – among them the decurions (members of the city council
[curia]) – were perhaps of marble. Other parts, as well, were decorated in marble.
The higher rows of seats, numbering ten or eleven, were of limestone and not of
local kurkar. The estimated number of spectators is 21,000–25,000. The rise of
Christianity brought an end to its use.

The Amphitheater

An oval amphitheater is a decidedly Roman entertainment structure. Performed in it were wild beast spectacles,
putting the condemned to death, hunting spectacles, and gladiatorial combats. Under the empire, performances
such as these were linked to the annual cult of the emperor.

Here, too, as in the arena of the circus/hippodrome, the performances started with a procession (pompa) that
also included a short rite in the small shrine (sacellum), which was located in a chamber beneath the seats. The
games went on for a number of days and included three daily events: hunting (venatio) in the morning, gladiatorial
combats (munus/munera) in the afternoon, and in between a variety of afternoon games (meridiani), such as
an exhibition of exotic animals, acrobatic and athletic performances, as well as executions of the condemned
by leaving them as prey for wild beasts, or by crucifixion and hoisting on a stake. Other performances included
fighting on horseback or even from chariots. The fighting horse rider was armed with body armor, a shield, a
helmet, and a spear. In a battle between two chariots, there were two people in each, one the driver and the other
the gladiator. The fighters would descend from the chariot and fight against each other, while the chariots waited
on the side.

The Byzantine City Wall

This wall was erected only in the fifth century; until then the city had no wall since
Hadrian’s time, when the city had spread beyond its Herodian wall. Excavated
in the northeast was a small segment that included a tower. Another part was
exposed alongside the Roman circus which is adjacent to it. This is the wall that
the Muslim army captured in 640 or 641, after a seven-year siege. Found near
the conjectural location of the eastern gate were fragments of an arch bearing an
inscription asking for the flourishing of the “metropolis” – a title granted to the
city by Alexander Severus in 231/2, as attested to by his coins. Hence, the gate
was erected at that location many years before it was incorporated into a city wall.
The northern gate was probably swept away by the sea, but to the east of there,
near the point at which the tunnel of the Lower Level Aqueduct crossed the city
wall, a blocked wicket was discovered (Fig. 54 above, p. 48). According to one
tradition, the Muslim army may have secretly penetrated into Caesarea through
this wicket.