The Crusader Citadel complex includes numerous halls and facilities (see diagram) as follows:
A) The Knights’ Halls: six connected large halls at the north of the citadel that were used as barracks for the Crusaders. It is possible that these barracks halls housed soldiers according to their country of origin.
B) Small halls to the west of the Knights’ Halls: a large water reservoir and a sugar works have been uncovered here.
C) Public lavatories in the northwest part of the grounds: The waste water was removed to the foundation level and from there out to sea by means of the flow of rainwater brought within the walls for this purpose. Possibly sea water was used in summer, the dry season.
D) The Great Hall, also called the Hall of Pillars (the columns supporting the ceiling): a vast room, 30 x 40 meters, divided into 24 spaces identical in shape and size. This was possibly the site of the Dormitorium: the sleeping quarters for members of the Hospitallers Order and the hundreds of pilgrims who came to Acre in those days.
E) Hall of the Imprisoned: Situated to the east of the Great Hall, at a lower, bedrock level. This hall—having only a single entrance and no windows—has along the length of its walls places where metal hooks were affixed, to which men could be shackled. This supports the assertion that criminals were imprisoned here.
F) Courtyard of the Citadel: an area of approx. 1,200 sq. m. On its north side: a well dug down to the groundwater level and two plastered cisterns for water. The southwest corner has an additional well with another plastered cistern adjacent. On the eastern side: a monumental staircase that formerly led to the upper floors of the eastern wing, to the quarters of ranking members of the Hospitallers Order in Acre. The stairs’ low rise allowed horses to ascend them.
G) The Refectory (Crusaders’ Dining Hall): This structure is architecturally impressive, composed of a large open space whose ceiling is supported by three massive round columns. On the walls are capital ornamented with stone carvings, and two of the hall’s corners display a fleur-de-lis (lily flower) design, symbol of the French royal family.
H) The tunnel: stretching approx. 85 m. from the central courtyard’s southeast corner to exit at the Crypt structure. Towards the final days of the Crusader presence in Acre, the tunnel— a sewage channel—was cleaned and converted into a secret escape passage.
I) The Beautiful Hall: a small hall, the only structure between the Great Hall to its north and the original arcaded street to the south, known as the Southern Road.
J) The Southern Road: an area only recently exposed. It runs from the city’s northern wall to the Genoa Quarter. Its central section is located beneath the level of today’s road and westward to the Turkish Bath (Hammam al-Pasha).
K) The Crypt: this is the ground floor of the Church of St. John. It was generally used for the burial of notable Church personages or as a vault for their skulls. The Crypt is situated south of the Southern Road and can be reached by way of the tunnel or the Turkish Bazaar.
