Archaeology Magazine - March 1950 - 46

which once brought fresh water to the city (8 & 9).
The hippodrome (5) and a theatre (4), mentioned
by Josephus, have long been known and show likewise clearly on the photograph. But the latter reveals
also the hitherto unknown amphitheatre mentioned
by Josephus (6). It is situated to the northeast of
the Crusader town and its arena is 95 metres long
and 62 metres broad, the relative measurements of
the Colosseum being 85 and 54 metres. To the east
of the arena is a raised platform about 3 metres
higher than the present ground. A carriage road led
from the platform to the sea shore. Remains of
stone benches and an entrance with subterranean passage to the west are detected by ground observation.
The situation of this amphitheatre does not conform to the description of Josephus, who writes as
follows: "Besides Herod built a theatre of rock-cut
stones in the town and behind it, on the southern
side of the harbour, an amphitheatre which was able
to accommodate an immense crowd and was so suitably situated that it allowed for a wide view over the
sea." Now the building to the south of the harbour
was a theatre, not an amphitheatre, as ground obser-

I
g|
M
H
Fa
S
H
ga
II
H
M
s
H
ra
Fl

vation clearly shows. It seems therefore that this
passage in Josephus has to be amended by changing
"amphitheatre" to "theatre." This would also meet
the postulation that a wide view could be obtained
over the sea, which is true for the theatre-site only.
Neither from the amphitheatre nor from the hippodrome can such a view be obtained. The mistake
can easily be explained by the fact that the word "amphitheatre" occurs first with Dionysius of Halicarnassos, about 30 B.c.
Neither the hippodrome nor the theatre was the
place for gladiatorial or wild-beast combat. The place
for such contests was the amphitheatre, and since we
know that at the inauguration of the town such combats were performed, it is most probable that the new
amphitheatre revealed by the photograph is really
the one built by Herod. Hundreds of Jewish prisoners of war were killed in gladiatorial and wild beast
combats by Titus at Caesarea, and it may be mentioned that animals from India and Ethiopia were
still exhibited by the Emperor Maximinus on the
occasion of his birthday. In the fourth century, the
ludi circenses of Caesarea were still famous.

THE COVER
The picture on the cover of this issue shows the great onyx "Gemma Augustea," the most famous ancient cameo, one of the chief treasures of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, on display now and until May 21 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, as part of a traveling exhibition of
Viennese art treasures.
The scene is in two zones. The upper shows a formal triumph of the Roman
emperor-to-be Tiberius, who is stepping from his chariot in the presence of
Augustus and the goddess Roma. The driver of the chariot is Victory; beside
it stands Germanicus. Over Augustus' head sails Capricornus, the constellation of his nativity, and behind him are grouped personifications of earth, sea,
and sky. The lower scene shows victorious soldiers erecting a trophy; figures
of German prisoners set the stage.
The photograph is reproduced by courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum
of Art.

i
p
^
|
|
p
^
ß
^
j|
^
fjjg
P
P
¡I

mmmwtWíWWámwímMmwtmmmmwtwáwwtwfWfwrifâwáWiWá^áwrwimfWfmmmm

ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeology Magazine - March 1950

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - March 1950