Caesarea SubMaritima: Insights into the Entrance of the Roman Harbour of Sebastos as Obtained Through High-Resolution Multimodal Remote Sensing Surveys

Gambash, Gil; Arkin-Shalev, Ehud; Wood, John; Nantet, Emmanuel; Gambin, Timmy

doi:10.3390/jmse13050940

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Caesarea SubMaritima: Insights into the Entrance of the Roman Harbour of Sebastos as Obtained Through High-Resolution Multimodal Remote Sensing Surveys

by

Gil Gambash

^1,*

,

Ehud Arkin-Shalev

¹

,

John Wood

²,

Emmanuel Nantet

¹

and

Timmy Gambin

²

¹

School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures, University of Haifa, Haifa 3103301, Israel

²

Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13(5), 940; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13050940 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 31 March 2025 / Revised: 6 May 2025 / Accepted: 7 May 2025 / Published: 11 May 2025

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Technologies for Maritime and Underwater Archaeology—2nd Edition)

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Abstract

This article presents the results of high-resolution multimodal remote sensing surveys which were performed in the Roman city of Caesarea Maritima at the sunken Herodian harbour of Sebastos. A joint team of scholars from the Universities of Malta and Haifa conducted the surveys at the area of the harbour’s entrance in order to answer questions related to its original architecture, long-term functioning, and gradual degradation processes. The core methodology employed comprised teams of divers performing a meticulous photogrammetric survey in order to generate a high-resolution 3D plan of the harbour’s entrance. The results present two different architectural styles on either side of the harbour entrance, which suggests two different building stages, potentially deriving from a late renovation attempt. The current state of the entrance channel, still deep and wide enough for the passage of vessels despite collapse and sedimentation processes, suggests the long-term functionality of the entrance, even while other parts of the harbour have structurally deteriorated and gone out of use.

Keywords: Caesarea Maritima; Sebastos; Roman harbours; remote sensing archaeology; under-water surveys

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MDPI and ACS Style

Gambash, G.; Arkin-Shalev, E.; Wood, J.; Nantet, E.; Gambin, T. Caesarea SubMaritima: Insights into the Entrance of the Roman Harbour of Sebastos as Obtained Through High-Resolution Multimodal Remote Sensing Surveys. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2025, 13, 940. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13050940

AMA Style

Gambash G, Arkin-Shalev E, Wood J, Nantet E, Gambin T. Caesarea SubMaritima: Insights into the Entrance of the Roman Harbour of Sebastos as Obtained Through High-Resolution Multimodal Remote Sensing Surveys. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 2025; 13(5):940. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13050940

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gambash, Gil, Ehud Arkin-Shalev, John Wood, Emmanuel Nantet, and Timmy Gambin. 2025. "Caesarea SubMaritima: Insights into the Entrance of the Roman Harbour of Sebastos as Obtained Through High-Resolution Multimodal Remote Sensing Surveys" Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 13, no. 5: 940. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13050940

APA Style

Gambash, G., Arkin-Shalev, E., Wood, J., Nantet, E., & Gambin, T. (2025). Caesarea SubMaritima: Insights into the Entrance of the Roman Harbour of Sebastos as Obtained Through High-Resolution Multimodal Remote Sensing Surveys. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 13(5), 940. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse13050940

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Caesarea SubMaritima: Insights into the Entrance of the Roman Harbour of Sebastos as Obtained Through High-Resolution Multimodal Remote Sensing Surveys

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