Roman Aqueduct at Caesarea on the Mediterranean

The old city Caesarea required a steady flow of running water. Initially its waters came from the local wells. However, as the population grew to several hundred thousand people, a large scale aqueduct was required to bring the water from a distance. The aqueduct was built in several phases, starting from King Herod.

The Aqueduct brought running water to the old city of Caesarea, along a raised aqueduct. The source of the water was the springs of Shummi, 10KM away.

The first aqueduct was built by Herod (37BC to 4BC), at the time the new city was founded and dedicated to the Roman Caesar, Augustus. It brought the water from the southern side of Mount Carmel, at Shummi, about 10KM to the north east of the city. The water flowed on a single raised canal, and in one section it is dug into the rock (at Jiser e-Zarka, an Arab village north of Caesarea).

Map of Roman Aqueducts at Caesarea

Since even this was not sufficient, a second aqueduct was built by the Legions of the Emperor Hadrian (2nd C AD). It brought water from Tanninim (Crocodiles) river, farther from Shummi. This section, with a tunnel of about 6KM long, was tapped into the older aqueduct, and doubled its capacity. This new source of water was added to the right of the first canal, and the aqueduct was thus doubled in width. The builders used the same building materials and style, so it is hard to see that the pair of tunnels were built in different ages.

The portion of the aqueduct I photographed on our tour is located on the main highway between Caesarea and Haifa, near the village Jiser- a- Zarka. Ruins of Caesarea in the distant background

These twin parallel aqueducts, termed today as the High-level aqueducts, continued to supply water for 1200 years. During the ages it was repaired several times. In the marsh lands east of Jiser e-Zarka a bypass canal was built to overcome the damages.

After that time the aqueduct was beyond repair. Therefore, in the Crusaders period (12th Century A.D.), a third, smaller, canal was built that replaced the first two. At that time the City was smaller and required less water, so the third smaller canal was sufficient.

Our friends under the Roman Aqueduct, Mediterranean Sea background

Another (forth) lower aqueduct was built during the Byzantine period in order to satisfy the growing needs for fresh water supply to the large city. This aqueduct started from a new source of water: the springs at Maagan Michael, several kilometers north to Jiser-E-Zarka. Since the water level was too low, a dam was built in order to create a lake, thus raising the water levels at the source. Then, a canal was dug in the sandstone ridge and brought the water to the city. This canal was laid lower and to the east of the raised Aqueduct.

Mr & Mrs Paradise Found on beach of the Mediterranean Sea at Aqueduct site

From Paradise Found: We were amazed at the size and scale of the Aqueduct, they are very wide and carried fresh water long distances. They are still standing today, which speak to the durability of the construction. This was a beautiful day, although it was a bit windy and cool. Our visit was in April, which is the best time to tour Israel. In April the temps are moderate, it starts warming in May and is very hot & humid all summer.

All photographs are original to Paradise Found
Text: http://www.biblewalks.com/Sites/caesareaaqueduct.html#Location
Map: http://www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/caesarea/

We enjoyed our tour of Israel, I will post more of the historic places we visited.
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