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View to the west from the upper level of the Promontory Palace. In the dark portion of the image (about the center of the photo) the foundation of the portion of the palace which extended out into the sea is visible. In the center of it is a rectangular shallow pool (60' [18 m.] wide, 150' [45 m.] long, and originally about 6' [2 m.] deep) which has pools of water in it at various locations. This pool was evidently fed fresh water by an aqueduct system and was surrounded on all sides by a covered portico.
The large (almost 4 acres [1.6 ha.] in size) official palace extended out into the Mediterranean Sea. Researchers believe that the palace was built by Herod the Great (37–4 B.C.). A Latin inscription found in the administrative wing of the palace says ". . . good hope to the assistants of the office of the guards" (translation courtesy of Dr. B. Burrell). This palace may have been the place where Paul appeared before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa II (Acts 23-26). Paul eventually appealed to Caesar for justice and set sail from Caesarea to Rome about A.D. 60.
Click here for another view of the palace pool.
For additional information see K. Gleason et al.: "The Promontory Palace at Caesarea Maritima: Preliminary Evidence for Herod's Praetorium" in the Journal of Roman Archaeology 11 (1998) 23-52.
