FLAG 52
Tsunami Research at Caesarea, Israel
May 17—June 6, 2005
Dr. Eduard G. Reinhardt FI'04
Expedition Members:
Dr. Eduard G. Reinhardt—Chief Scientist
Dr. Yossi Mart—Scientist
Dr. Michal Artzy—Scientist
Beverly Goodman—Researcher
Andrei Yakovenko—Researcher
Jeremy Gabriel—Researcher
Hendrik Dey—Researcher
Andrew Lacovara MN'01—Researcher
Roni Eimermacher—Researcher
Steve Breitstein—Technician
Amir Yurman—Technician
Danny Shaffer—Skipper, R/V Mediterranean Explorer
Etai Katzman—Chief, R/V Mediterranean Explorer
Introduction
In 2003, we made an exciting discovery during our excavations of an ancient harbor at Caesarea, Israel; shell and sediment deposits from an ancient tsunami. The harbor
was built by Herod the Great at the end of the 1st century BC. I had been conducting research since 1990 trying to determine what destroyed the ancient harbor and in 2003 we finally discovered part of the answer. Our collaborative research team, led by the late Dr. Avner Raban from the University of Haifa, and myself from McMaster University found the shell and sediment deposits. Radiocarbon dating and artifacts from the deposits indicated that the tsunami struck sometime in the 1st to 2nd century AD. We believe it was recorded in Talmudic sources (Shalem 1956) since it reports a tsunami striking the shore on December 13, 115 CE. The force of the tsunami impacted Caesarea and Yavne, and its impact reached as far as Rome. An earthquake that destroyed Antioch (in modern Syria) probably triggered the tsunami which in turn affected the structural integrity of the harbor. At least, this was our working hypothesis, and the findings from this year have supported our theory.
FULL REPORT in pdf
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