Caesarea Columns, 135-305 CE

Two columns found at Caesarea by Ehud Netzer (1990-92), each bear three inscriptions. Of the six, one is in Greek, and five are in Latin.

The earliest inscription on column 1, dating to between 135 and 212 CE, honors Decimus Seius Seneca, a previously unknown governor of Syria-Palaestina (the name given by the Romans in the wake of two failed Jewish revolts to the province of which Caesarea was a part). Part of the bottom of this inscription was chiseled away to make room for subsequent inscriptions.

Both columns were next inscribed by local governors in honor of the Roman emperor Probus (276–282 CE); column 1 was turned upside down and column 2 was rotated to make room for the new inscriptions. For their last inscriptions, column 1 was rotated and column 2 was turned upside down; each bore dedications to the junior members of the tetrarchy headed by the emperor Diocletian, one for Constantius Chlorus and the other for Galerius (293–305 CE).

“Uncovering Herod’s Seaside Palace,” BAR May-June 1993.