Harbor Steps at Caesarea Maritima In the Footsteps of Paul (Acts 27)

Harbor Steps at Caesarea Maritima

In the Footsteps of Paul (Acts 27)

These worn stone steps lie along the edge of the ancient harbor at Caesarea Maritima, the great seaport built by Herod the Great between 22 and 10 BC. This harbor—called Sebastos in honor of Augustus—was the largest and most sophisticated port on the eastern Mediterranean coast of its day. Massive breakwaters created a protected basin where large ships could anchor, while smaller boats moved passengers and cargo between the quay and vessels waiting in deeper water.

It was from this harbor that the apostle Paul began his final journey recorded in the book of Acts.

According to Acts 23–26, Paul was held in custody in Caesarea for about two years, first under the governor Felix and then under Festus. After appealing to Caesar, he was placed under the guard of a Roman centurion and prepared for transport to Rome. Acts 27:1 states plainly: “When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius.” The narrative then moves directly to their embarkation at Caesarea.

While the New Testament does not describe the exact location within the harbor where Paul boarded, the normal procedure in Roman ports helps us understand what likely happened. Large seagoing vessels—such as the Alexandrian grain ship that would later carry Paul—did not always dock directly against the quay. Instead, passengers were commonly taken out to them in small boats. Stone steps like the ones shown here provided practical access to the water for loading and boarding these smaller craft.

For that reason, these steps represent the kind of place where Paul would have descended to enter a boat under Roman guard, beginning the voyage that would take him through storms, shipwreck, and ultimately to Rome. However, it is important to state clearly that no archaeological feature at Caesarea can be identified with certainty as “the” steps used by Paul. The visible harbor remains today include layers from the Herodian, Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader periods, and many stones have been reused or rebuilt over time. What we see is authentic to the ancient port, but it cannot be tied to a single moment or individual.

Even so, standing here brings the biblical account into vivid focus. From somewhere along this shoreline, Paul—still a prisoner yet confident in God’s promise—was placed on a ship bound for Italy. Acts 27 records not only the dangers of that voyage but also Paul’s steady faith and leadership in the midst of crisis. The harbor of Caesarea thus becomes the setting for the opening scene of one of the most dramatic journeys in the New Testament.

These steps remind us that the story of Acts is rooted in real places. They belong to the working harbor of a Roman provincial capital, where soldiers, sailors, merchants, and prisoners passed daily. Among them walked Paul, carrying the gospel toward the heart of the empire.

While we cannot say, “Paul stepped here,” we can say with confidence:

this is the harbor from which he sailed, and these are the kinds of stones that would have borne his steps on the way to Rome.

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