During conservation work in the northeastern corner of the Crusader city wall that was constructed during the crusade of Louis IX, king of France (1251 CE), two carved stones were discerned in the side of the wall that faced north (Fig. 1). The stones were set on two marble capitals, which were exposed, in situ, during the excavations conducted by L.I. Levine and E. Netzer in 1975–1976. The capitals were placed on top of gray granite columns, situated along the line of the northern wall of a large building that predated the city wall. Levine and Netzer suggested that these columns were the remains of a monumental gate, erected on one of the main streets of Caesarea during the Byzantine period; subsequently, it was incorporated into the city wall from the time of the Early Islamic period (Qadmoniot 11:73).

 

While cleaning the capitals and the stones atop them it became apparent that the side of the two stones facing north was incorporated into the city wall from the Crusader period. This side was also decorated with a carved demon, which was characteristic of Romanesque art that prevailed from the end of the 10th century until the second half of the 12th century CE (Figs. 2, 3). The demons adorned the northern facade of a magnificent building from the Crusader period, prior to the construction of the city wall during the reign of Louis IX. It is impossible to ascertain the exact date of the building without conducting an excavation; however, it is clear that it predated the city wall. The northeastern corner of the city wall was attached to the northern and eastern walls of the earlier building and the stones that protruded from the walls of that structure were combined into the city wall.