| Prehistoric Scratchpad PhBP Po10BP |
Site considered the oldest city in the world and known from the tale of its defeat in the Bible.
Details[]
10,000 Years Ago[]
The city was located at the modern day Tell es-Sultan mound. It had the world's oldest known city walls, and one of the first towers.
Earlier History[]
Lake Lisan once inhiabited the area near Jericho 70,000 years ago, and engulfed the current Dead Sea and Jordan River valley. It's water levels started to decline around 17,000 BC and the lake was gone by 12,000 years ago.
This site became a popular campsite for the Natufian hunter gatherers by 12,000 years ago, due to the nearby Ein as-Sultan spring. By 11,000 Years ago, after the drought-plagued Younger Dryas period was over, the Natufians made a permanent settlement here, prior to the advent of agriculture. Stones that produced sounds similar to bells have been found in Jericho at this period and at many other Natufian sights.
One of the first proto-cities was developed here 10,500 years ago, which is referred to as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A or Sultanian era of the city. The dwelling were round at this time.
Later History[]
The city was abandoned about 9,500 years ago.
The city was resettled in 6800BC, which was a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site. Plastered skull were found in this city. One of these was reconstructed using modern technlology. The new dwellings were rectangular. The city continued into the Bronze Age and was destroyed in the late Bronze Age. It became wealthy and well connected during the period of the Egyptian empire's involvement in the region. Egyptian decorative items were found in the burial of a young aristocratic girl dated to 1800 BC. The destruction of Jericho is said to have occurred around 1400 BC in the Bible. There is an archaeological controversy over if the walls actually fell at that time or a hundred years earlier.
The area of the original city was resettled by the 9th or 10th century BC in the Iron Age. This was destroyed during the Babylonian conquest of Judah in the late 6th Century BC.
In New Testament times, King Herod built palaces here and gave some lands here to Cleopatra. Jesus was baptised in the nearby Jordan River and was tempted by the devil off of a hill near here.
Modern History[]
The first excavations were made by Charles Warren in 1868 who idendified Tell es-Sultan as the site of Jericho. In the 1930, John Garstang found evidence for collapsed walls which matched the description found in the Bible and dated it to the Bible's time (1400). In the 1950, Kathleen Kenyon excavated it and was of the opinion that the walls had fallen 100 years prior to the Biblical Events, and believed that it was instead destroyed during Egyptian Raids and that it was uninhabited during the Biblical time frame. Radiocarbon dating in 1995 supported Kenyon's assertion.
Today[]
The city is in the Palestinian Territories and is the administrative seat of the Jericho Governorate. It is currently the lowest city in the world.
Jericho Web Pages[]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jericho
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tell_es-Sultan
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Jericho
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Jericho
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jericho
- https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/lifestyle/who-were-ancient-natufians-and-how-did-they-change-your-life
Jericho In the News[]
Radiocarbon Date of Collapse of Jericho's Wall (1990)[]
- https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/22/world/believers-score-in-battle-over-the-battle-of-jericho.html
- http://www.biblearchaeology.org/post/2008/05/Did-the-Israelites-Conquer-Jericho-A-New-Look-at-the-Archaeological-Evidence.aspx (2008 look)
Tomb of King Herod discovered at Herodium (May 2007)[]
6000 Year Old Bones to be Tested for Tuberculosis (Jul 2008)[]
- http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2008/07/15/2303953.htm
- http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/disease/tuberculosis-jericho-2008.html (reaction article)
Tower Was a Monument to Intimidation (Feb 2011)[]
Review of History Channel's Jericho Program (Mar 2013)[]
Museum of Herod Created (May 2013)[]
11 Thousand Year Old Stone "Bells" Found (Jun 2015)[]
Israeli Palestinian Politics and Jericho (2014-2015)[]
- https://www.timesofisrael.com/about-that-10000-year-history-in-jericho-mr-erekat/
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-archaeology-became-an-israeli-palestinian-battleground-1478267201
Plastered Sull Gets 3D Makeover (Dec 2016)[]
- https://www.cnn.com/style/article/jericho-skull-reconstruction-british-museum/index.html
- https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/.premium.MAGAZINE-9-500-year-old-plastered-skulls-were-from-ancestor-cult-1.5477014
Did Events From the Bible Actually Happen? (Nov 2017)[]
Bronze Age Cosmetics and Jewelry Found (Dec 2017)[]
- https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/jericho-ancient-archaeology-egypt-bible/
- http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/5000-year-old-jewelry-and-eyeliner-highlight-power-ancient-jericho-009326
- http://www.newsweek.com/ancient-nile-treasures-secret-tomb-reveal-biblical-city-jericho-israel-754030
Videos[]
Jericho at the dawn of human history
Overview of Jericho and its history.
Jericho Found!! Bible Archaeology
Video showing evidence for Jericho and its Biblical Events and controversy