Caesarea tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 01:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Asia/Jerusalem local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Caesarea Maritima is the site of the Roman-era capital of Judea, built by Herod the Great starting around 22 BCE and for centuries one of the most important ports of the eastern Mediterranean. The ancient harbour — Sebastos, as it was named — was an engineering achievement of the early Roman Imperial period: a breakwater constructed from hydraulic pozzolana concrete in deep water, one of the first large-scale uses of this construction technique. What remains today is the partially submerged archaeological site of the harbour stones, the Roman theatre, the hippodrome, the aqueduct, and the Crusader-era town walls that surround the ancient core. The coast at Caesarea is the modern national park (Caesarea National Park), managed by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. The beach south of the archaeological site is a white sand beach that is also accessible for swimming; to the north of the ancient harbour ruins the beach continues toward the Caesarea Harbour Amphitheatre (a modern performance venue). The Mediterranean tide here is the same as at Haifa and Akko: astronomical range 15–30 cm, with weather-driven anomalies dominating the actual water level. The ancient Sebastos harbour is now partially submerged — the harbour stones lie 2–3 m below present sea level, a combination of post-Roman sea-level rise (the Mediterranean has risen approximately 1.5–2.0 m since the Roman period), localised land subsidence, and the settlement of the original concrete breakwater under its own weight. This 2,000-year sea-level proxy is one of the most precisely dated examples of combined sea-level rise and coastal land subsidence in the Mediterranean. IOLR researchers have used the Sebastos harbour as a natural tide gauge: comparing the Roman-era construction datum with the current sea level gives a long-term subsidence rate for the Caesarea site. The underwater archaeological site is accessible to snorkellers and divers from the beach immediately below the ancient harbour walls. The submerged harbour stones, column drums, and Roman-era artifacts are visible at 1–5 m depth. Caesarea Dive Centre operates from the national park and is authorised to provide guided dive access; the site is within a protected archaeological zone and collection is prohibited. The best visibility is in summer (June–September) when easterly and NE winds have kept the sea calm; winter NW storms reduce visibility to 2–4 m. Predictions here: Open-Meteo Marine, ±45 min / ±0.2–0.3 m. IOLR sea-level monitoring is the authoritative reference for Israeli coastal water levels. The Caesarea National Park archaeological site encompasses the ancient theatre (capacity 3,500, still used for open-air concerts), the hippodrome (ancient chariot racing track, the outline visible from above), the Roman aqueduct section along the beach 2 km north, and the Crusader-era moat and gate. The underwater harbour is a separate zone accessed via the Caesarea Dive Centre. The combination of Roman archaeology, the functioning ancient theatre, and the accessible underwater site makes Caesarea one of the most archaeologically rich coastal locations in the eastern Mediterranean. The Roman aqueduct at Caesarea, built by Herod to bring fresh water from the Carmel springs 15 km to the north, runs along the beach north of the national park and is accessible on foot. The aqueduct arches are partially buried in the beach sand at the lower sections; at high (beach) sand levels in winter the arches are covered to their caps, while in summer after longshore drift has moved sand south the arches are more exposed. The sand level variation on the beach at the aqueduct is governed by seasonal littoral drift rather than tidal state; it changes over weeks, not hours. The Roman theatre at Caesarea, still used for summer concerts under the open sky, gives the site a living quality that purely museum-context ruins lack; the combination of archaeology, beach, and performance venue on the same stretch of Mediterranean coast is genuinely unusual.