Well, I am starting to think the idea of a hippodrome motif for this unique
tessera is very plausible.
Caesarea Maritima
had two hippodromes, one from the original
Herodian city construction, and a larger one from dating from the first half of the 2nd century CE. The earlier
circus was a seaside "U-shaped" structure mentioned by Josephus and located
north of the "Promontory Palace" and south of the central harbour. This structure has recently been uncovered and partially
restored by archaeologists, and is shown in this aerial photo from
Wikipedia. The orientation exactly matches the image on the
tessera with the ocean waves on the left! As always, any comments or ideas are welcome.
(Aerial Photo by:אסף.צ [Assaf.C])