Joint Expedition to Caesarea

The three column bases are remains of the splendid colonnade that once lined the Cardo Maximus of Caesarea. As many as 700 columns in two rows may have lined the mile long main north-south street. The two rows of columns, one on either side, separated the 18-foot-wide, paved central roadway from mosaic covered sidewalks of equal width adjacent to the roadway. Alongside the column base in the upper part of the picture is a fallen column shaft that once held a Corinthian capital. Roof tiles uncovered in the excavation indicate that originally the sidewalks on either side of the central roadway were covered.