Caesarea Seaside Circus/Hippodrome

In recent years the seaside "U-shaped" Hippodrome (Greek)/Circus (Latin) mentioned by Josephus has been uncovered by archaeologists. Located north of the Promontory Palace and south of the Crusader Fort this structure was initially built by Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.). It was 995 [303 m.] feet long and 165 feet [50 m.] wide. It was curved at the south end. On the east side, 12 rows of seats arose above the 5.5-foot high wall that separated the audience from the events in the arena. Variously called by Josephus an amphitheater (Ant. 15.341 [9.6]) or a stadium (Wars. 2.172-74 [9.3]) it seated about 5,000 spectators.