Caesarea - Martyrs Chapel
Church Name, type, function
Site Name:
Caesarea
Church name:
Martyrs Chapel
Functional Type:
Martyr's chapel
Church type:
Chapel - Free standing
Location
Coordinates, ITM system:
139,893.33
1,211,517.70
Coordinates, ICS system:
189,949.00
711,566.00
Geographical region:
Coastal plain
Topographical location:
On the sea shore, at the eastern side of the arena of the hippo-stadium
Provincial affiliation:
Palaestina I
Bishopric:
Caesarea
Source of knowledge
Archaeological remains
Excavated site
Excavators:
| Name | Date |
|---|---|
Porath | 1990's |
History:
The sacellum to the goddess Kore in hippo-stadium that was truncated into an amphitheater, was converted in the fourth century, so it seems, into a martyrs’ chapel.
Bibliograpy:
41, Fig. 44; 94. |
General description
State of preservation/which parts were uncovered:
The sacellum beneath the dignitaries’ platform of the truncated hippo-stadium was spanned by two arches that supported the floor of the platform above it. It was thus divided into three open chambers. At the start of the Byzantine era the sacellum was turned into a Christian martyrs’ chapel by enlarging the sacellum into the arena. Three base stones to insert in the legs of an altar table—a common finding in Christian chapels and churches— was found there. Niches were cut into the eastern kurkar wall. The large niche in the center chamber seems to had served as an apsidal niche. The elongated niches, in the side chambers, perhaps served for burying martyrs’ remains, as in the Christian catacombs in Rome.
Description
Small finds
Architectural Evolution
| General outline | Phase no. | Century |
|---|---|---|
Sacellum enlarged into the arena. | Phase 1 | 4th c. |
Covered by the arena fill, seemingly in the 5th c. | Abandonment | 5th c. |