Aqueducts

Roman cities were characterized by an abundance of fresh running water, sometimes brought from great distances by aqueducts. Fountains dotted the streets of Roman cities, and the water that overflowed swept garbage and debris into sewers. Water also supplied the public and private bath houses that were a feature of Roman life. Although many people visualize Roman aqueducts as huge bridges carried on arches (such as the famous Pont du Gard in France), in reality an aqueduct is simply a water channel. Although sometimes Roman aqueducts employed siphons to pump water upward, in most cases the water flowed naturally through the channel along a gentle downward slope. To maintain the level of the flow (in cases where the ground level dropped), an arched bridge was built to support the channel. If there were hills or mountains in the way, the channel could be cut as an underground tunnel, as in a short section of the aqueduct at Qumran. Water channels usually were covered with stone slabs, which could be removed from time to time to clean out accumulations of silt and lime.

Like a typical Roman city, Herod provisioned Caesarea with plenty of fresh water brought by aqueduct. The water came from springs in the Carmel Mountains to the northeast. To maintain a gentle downward slope, with the steep drop

8.8 View of the Herodian theater and hippodrome at Caesarea. Courtesy of Zev Radovan/ BibleLandPictures. com.

From the mountains to the sea, Herod's aqueduct (the “high-level aqueduct") was carried on an arched bridge built of stone. Long stretches of this aqueduct still survive on the beach north of Caesarea. The aqueduct entered the city as a water channel running under the gate between the two round towers.

As Caesarea's population grew, so did the need for water. In the second century C. E., Hadrian doubled the amount of water by building a second channel alongside Herod's, supported by another arched bridge that abutted Herod's original aqueduct. Dedicatory inscriptions set into Hadrian's aqueduct indicate that it was constructed by Roman legionary soldiers stationed in the vicinity.

In the fourth century C. E., a new aqueduct (the “low-level aqueduct") was constructed. Unlike the high-level aqueduct, this channel originated in the marshy delta of the Tanninim (Crocodile) River, just a few miles north of Caesarea. The low-level aqueduct was created by damming the river, which was diverted into the channel. The aqueduct is so called because an arched bridge was not necessary in this case to maintain the level of the water. Instead, the channel ran just above ground level.

Sprawling country villas belonging to wealthy families dotted the rich agricultural landscape outside Caesarea's walls. Part of one such villa was discovered accidentally and excavated in 1950 to the northeast of Caesarea. It included a lavish mosaic with medallions containing depictions of exotic animals, apparently the floor of a large peristyle courtyard. In the same area a luxurious bath house dating to the end of the Byzantine period was found, which included a

8.9 The high-level aqueduct at Caesarea showing the two construction phases. Courtesy of Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures. com.

Fish pond (piscina) for fresh-water fish that could be caught and served to the bathers.

Samaria-Sebaste

Alexander the Great banished the Samaritans from the city of Samaria, the former capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, and settled Macedonian veterans there. Therefore, by Herod's time Samaria, like Caesarea, was inhabited by a non-Jewish population. And, as he did with Caesarea, Herod rebuilt Samaria after the battle of Actium, naming it Sebaste (Sebastos) in honor of Augustus. There are many other parallels between Herod's cities of Caesarea and Samaria. For example, on top of the ancient acropolis Herod established an Italian-style temple dedicated to Roma and Augustus. The temple stood on an elevated podium with steps along the front, and was oriented to the south like typical Roman temples. The temple was located in the center of a large, open platform, which was supported along the sides by underground arches and vaults. A small theater on the north side of the acropolis had seating on the natural slope of the hill. Another temple dedicated to Kore was located on a terrace to the north, just below the acropolis. Kore (or Persephone) was the daughter of the goddess Demeter, and her cult was associated with fertility.

The city was surrounded by a wall, with a main gate on the west flanked by round towers. The gate led to a colonnaded street that bisected the city from

2006, by permission of Mohr Siebeck.

8.11 The steps of Herod's temple to Rome and Augustus at Samaria.

8.12 The colonnaded street at Samaria.

West to east and was overlooked by the acropolis to the north. A stadium (or, according to a more recent theory, a peristyle courtyard) lay in a flat plain at the northern edge of the city. An inscription on an altar found in the stadium or courtyard was dedicated to Kore by a high priest. To the east of the acropolis was a forum, with a basilica along the western side. An aqueduct brought water into the city from springs to the east.

Herodian Jericho

Jericho is a desert oasis just to the northwest of the Dead Sea. The Hasmonean kings established a series of winter palaces at Jericho because of its warm climate, abundance of fresh water springs, and proximity to Jerusalem (only 17 miles away). The Hasmonean palaces included luxuriously appointed living quarters (including frescoes, stucco, and mosaics), lush gardens, and swimming pools, as well as numerous miqva'ot — not surprising because the Hasmonean kings also served as high priests. Herod followed suit by establishing three successive palace complexes adjacent to the Hasmonean palaces. Herod's Third Palace at Jericho — the largest and most elaborate of the series — straddled the banks of Wadi Qelt, a riverbed fed by perennial fresh water springs. The palace itself was located on the north bank, and included a Roman-style bath house and an enormous reception hall decorated with frescoes and mosaics, and opus sectile (colored tile) pavements. Across the riverbed, on the south bank, was a large garden overlooked by stoas (porches) on either side, which was connected to

8.13 Reconstruction of Herod's Third Palace at Jericho. Reconstruction by Leen Ritmeyer ©.

The north bank by a bridge. Flowerpots with holes in the base for drainage were discovered in the excavations in the garden. A huge swimming pool lay to the east of the garden, overlooked by a building on a nearby hill, the function of which is unknown.

Herod's Third Palace at Jericho was constructed by combining Roman concrete technology with the local building material — mud brick. The walls were built of concrete faced with mud bricks laid in a distinctive net pattern called opus reticulatum (reticulate work) (see the Sidebar). The mud bricks would have been covered with plaster and then painted with frescoes. This distinctive Roman technique has been discovered in only three places in Israel: Herod's Third Palace at Jericho, a Herodian palace at Banyas (in Upper Galilee), and a mausoleum (apparently associated with Herod's family) north of the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. Because Roman concrete technology was unfamiliar to the local population, architects or workmen from Italy must have participated in these construction projects. Ehud Netzer, who excavated the Hasmonean and Herodian palaces at Jericho, suggested that this exchange occurred in the wake of Marcus Agrippa's visit to Herod's kingdom in 15 B. C.E.

About one mile from the palaces, Herod established a public arena that included a stadium with theatral seating at one end. To protect the palaces, Herod built a fortress on top of a mountain overlooking the outlet of Wadi

8.14 Aerial view of the northern wing of Herod's Third Palace at Jericho. Courtesy of Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures. com.

Qelt, which he named Cypros in honor of his mother. Like Herod's other fortified desert palaces (such as Masada and Herodium), Cypros was equipped with lavishly decorated palatial quarters, storerooms for food and cisterns for water, and a Roman-style bath house.

8.15 Opus reticulatum in the bath house of Herod's Third Palace at Jericho.

Herodium

Unlike the other sites we have discussed, Herod named Herodium after himself, apparently because he planned it as his final resting place and everlasting memorial (the location of another Herodium mentioned by Josephus is unknown). Indeed, the distinctive, cone-shaped mountain (which Josephus described as breast-shaped), still dominates the landscape around Bethlehem and is visible even from Jerusalem. Herodium was a sprawling complex consisting of a fortified palace atop the mountain (Upper Herodium) and another palace and administrative complex at its base (Lower Herodium).

Herodium is a feat of engineering: an artificial mountain created by piling huge quantities of earth around two concentric stone walls that were built on a natural hill. The concentric walls were several stories high, with vaulted stone passages one above another inside them. Four stone towers oriented toward the cardinal points were set into the towers, the eastern one round and the others semicircular. The palace atop Upper Herodium was set into a huge depression inside the circular walls, resembling the mouth of a volcano. Within the depression, the palace was laid out axially, with the eastern half consisting of a large peristyle garden with exedrae (semicircular niches that perhaps contained statues) in the north, east, and south walls. The western half of the palace was divided into two equal parts: a bath house on the north and palace rooms on the south. The bath house is a modest-sized but well-equipped Roman style facility with a hypocaust heating system (see Chapter 10), and the centerpiece of the palace rooms was a large triclinium. At the time of the First Revolt, Jewish rebels

8.16 Aerial view of Herodium. Courtesy of Zev Radovan/BibleLandPictures. com.

8.17 Section through Upper Herodium. Reconstruction by Leen Ritmeyer ©.

Converted the triclinium into a synagogue (see Chapter 14). Only bits and pieces of the original decoration of the palace — frescoes, stucco, and mosaics — survive. However, the tepidarium (warm room) of the bath house is still covered by the original stone dome.

On the lower slope of Herodium facing Jerusalem is a large administrative palace complex. The palace was built on a terrace above a long, narrow hippodrome that was dominated by a monumental building at one end. The complex overlooks a gigantic pool (ca. 225 by 150 feet) that was surrounded by a peristyle with extensive gardens. The pool had a circular pavilion in the center, and was used for boating as well as bathing. It was supplied by aqueducts that brought water from springs in the area of Bethlehem. The lush green of the gardens and sparkling water in the pool created a stark contrast with the arid desert environment — a visual statement of power and abundance.

Upper and Lower Herodium were connected by a staircase that ascended the northwest side and was enclosed by stone walls and a vaulted ceiling. Josephus relates that when Herod died in his palace at Jericho in 4 B. C.E., a procession brought his body to Herodium for burial. Ehud Netzer, an Israeli archaeologist who began excavating at Lower Herodium in the 1980s, spent decades searching for Herod's tomb, the location of which remained a mystery. Some scholars believed that Herod was buried at the top of the mountain or inside it, whereas Netzer thought it might be in or around the monumental

8.18 Reconstruction of Herodium including Herod's tomb. National Geographic Image ID 1198441, by Hiram Henriquez/National Geographic Stock.

Building by the hippodrome. Finally, in 2007, Netzer found the tomb about midway down the northern slope of the mountain — the side facing toward Jerusalem. The tomb was marked by a massive tholos (circular structure) on a raised square podium. The high quality of the carved stone decoration of the tholos and stone sarcophagus (coffin) fragments found nearby is unparalleled elsewhere in Israel, leaving little doubt that this is the tomb of Herod (despite the absence of inscriptions so far).

Netzer's excavations on the slope around the tomb have indicated that this was part of a much larger complex of buildings that included a small theater. One room behind the theater was decorated with an exquisite fresco depicting figures in a sacro-idyllic landscape, painted in a trompe I'oeil window on the wall — a Roman-style painting of the highest quality that has no parallels in Israel. According to Netzer, the structures on the side of the mountain were buried in earth after Herod's death — apparently preplanned. Netzer also suggested that Herod's sarcophagus was smashed to bits by disgruntled Jews shortly after his death. Josephus' failure to refer to the exact location of Herod's burial — or, indeed, to provide any description of the tholos marking it — suggests that it may have been forgotten by his time.

The Archaeology of the Holy Land Sidebar: Roman Concrete Technology

Early temples in Italy were constructed of mud-brick and stone, sometimes covered with painted terra-cotta plaques or decoration. Eventually, in an attempt to monumentalize temples and other buildings, the Romans began to use other building materials. Although the Romans adopted and adapted classical Greek styles of architecture, Italy is poorer than Greece in high-quality marble. Therefore, the Romans tried to make marble go as far as possible by slicing it into thin slabs used as the covering (veneer) for walls and other surfaces, in contrast to classical Greek monuments, which usually were constructed entirely of marble. By the late Republican period (second and first centuries B. C.E.), the Romans began constructing buildings using concrete. Although it was poured into a frame like modern concrete, Roman concrete was a much chunkier mixture. It utilized the natural volcanic materials that abound in Italy, specifically volcanic ash and tufa, a friable, spongy stone that otherwise is not well suited for building purposes.

Greek architecture often is described as post-and-lintel construction, referring to a series of horizontal and vertical elements (such as columns, walls, and entablatures) created by the use of marble or other types of stone. In contrast, the liquid nature of concrete, which is poured into a frame, makes it easy to create curvilinear shapes such as arches, domes, and vaults. Today, concrete usually is poured into a wooden frame, which is removed after the concrete hardens. In Roman architecture, concrete typically was poured into a brick or stone frame, with the courses of bricks or stones built up little by little as the concrete was poured. Unlike modern wood frames, the bricks or stones were embedded in the concrete and could not be removed after it hardened. Despite the fact that the bricks or stones frequently were laid in decorative patterns — such as the opus reticulatum (net) pattern found at Herodian Jericho — they were not seen after construction was completed, because the surfaces were covered with plaster (sometimes painted), marble veneer, or mosaics.

Only three examples of buildings using Roman concrete have been discovered in Israel (not including the breakwaters of Herod's harbor at Caesarea). The architects and craftsmen who worked on these structures, as well as the concrete itself, almost certainly came from Italy. Roman influence is evident in Herod's other monuments, which incorporate arches, domes, and vaults, but use cut stone instead of concrete. In fact, it is more costly and difficult to manufacture curvilinear shapes in stone than in concrete, because the stones must be cut precisely and carefully to fit together.

The Early Roman (Herodian) Period (40 B. C.E.-70 C. E.) Sidebar: Ehud Netzer (1934—2010)

Ehud Netzer was an Israeli archaeologist who taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was trained as an architect and worked in that capacity on Yigael Yadin's excavations at Masada in the mid-1960s. Netzer was known for his work on the architecture of Herod the Great, having conducted excavations at Masada, Herodian Jericho, Cypros, Caesarea Maritima, and Herodium. In addition to publishing the results of these excavations, Netzer produced several authoritative studies of Herod's architecture. In October 2010, Netzer died suddenly and tragically at Herodium, where he was conducting excavations, when he tumbled down the slope after a railing on which he was leaning collapsed. Only a couple of years before his death, Netzer had discovered Herod's tomb at Herodium after decades of searching.

Recommended Reading

Kenneth G. Holum et al., King Herod's Dream, Caesarea on the Sea (New York: W. W. Norton, 1988).

Ehud Netzer, The Architecture of Herod the Great Builder (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006).

Ehud Netzer, The Palaces of the Hasmoneans and Herod the Great (Jerusalem: Yad Ben-Zvi, 2001).

Peter Richardson, Herod, King of the Jews and Friend of the Romans (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1999).