Caesarea aqueduct to be repaired

RESTORATION: Two years after collapse, Caesarea aqueduct to be restored in joint project. The Carmel Beach Regional Council, Caesarea Development Company, and Israel Antiquities Authority sign NIS 39 million joint agreement to preserve and develop the site (Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel).

In August 2023, after the collapse of one of the arches, the IAA harshly criticized the bodies responsible for the beach for ignoring its repeated warnings about the aqueduct’s condition. At the time, the IAA urged the regional council and the Caesarea Development Company to urgently secure funds for renovation work and to stabilize the rest of the aqueduct.

In the current project, NIS 15 million from the IAA, the Carmel Beach Regional Council, and the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation will be invested in preserving the aqueduct through conservation works expected to take about 40 months. The project will include the conservation and constructive stabilization of each of the aqueduct’s 85 arches, and engineering treatment of the upper aqueduct (the water channel itself) under the scientific supervision of the IAA.

The Caesarea Development Company, a branch of the Edmond de Rothschild Foundation, will invest an additional NIS 24 million to develop the site and enhance the visitor experience, including landscaping, trail construction, and other facilities.

That's good news.

I noted the collapse of a Hadrianic aqueduct arch in 2023. A second Roman-era arch collapsed there in 2024. The article says (quoted above) that this project will conserve and stabilize all 85 of the aqueduct's arches.

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