Sights Caesarea’s ruins span many historical periods, although very little is left of the Roman city, largely because its magnificent buildings were constantly pillaged by other towns.

Most of the site is well marked. Relics from the Roman period include the main road and several statues; the granaries and residences are Arab remains, while the walls and churches date from the Crusader period. Don’t be surprised to find pieces of a marble column used as street pavement-Crusade-era contractors frequently reused Roman remains when erecting a city. The harbor and beaches of Caesarea are of major archaeological significance as well. The engineering of Herod’s now-submerged port included a breakwater which was the first in the Eastern Mediterranean. Both the dry ground and underwater areas of Caesarea are currently being excavated by an international team of archaeologists and volunteers.

Although most of the ruins are within the Crusader walls, the most interesting Roman remnants all lie outside the site proper. Behind the cafe across from the entrance to the Crusader city are an excavated Byzantine street and Caesarea’s most famous finds: colossal Roman statues from the 2nd century AD, one of red porphyry, the other of white marble. The two headless figures were discovered accidentally by kibbutzniks ploughing their fields. A lkm walk north along either the beach or the road that runs along the Crusader walls leads to Caesarea’s town beach and the excellently preserved Roman aqueduct.