Jericho is a lost and buried city in West Bank, Asia. UNESCO World Heritage List: Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan dates it to c. 9600-1550 BCE. Its height is listed as 8.5 m (measured). UNESCO World Heritage List: Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan also records: “Town.”
One of the oldest continuously settled places, with a stone tower from about 8000 BCE.
What makes it extraordinary
The Shalom 'al Yisrael Synagogue
Discovered north of the Byzantine-era settlement, the 6th-century Shalom 'al Yisrael synagogue features a basilical hall with significant mosaic art. The central medallion contains a Hebrew inscription meaning 'Peace upon Israel,' accompanied by traditional Jewish motifs such as the menorah, lulav, and shofar. The building was constructed in two phases during the late Byzantine or early Islamic periods and remained active until the 8th century. Its artistic program closely parallels the nearby Na'aran synagogue, which also featured a zodiac cycle and Aramaic dedicatory inscriptions before its destruction.
Middle Bronze Age Urban Prosperity
Jericho reached its greatest Bronze Age extent between 1700 and 1550 BCE, a period described by archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon as the most prosperous in the history of Canaan. The city was protected by a complex defensive system featuring extensive walls, rectangular towers, and a massive stone revetment. Excavations also revealed a cemetery with vertical shaft-tombs and underground chambers containing elaborate funeral offerings, which likely reflect the emergence of a local ruling class. This era of urban development is linked to the rise of the Maryannu, an aristocratic class of chariot-users.
The Neolithic Tower of Jericho
Constructed around 8000 BCE during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period, the Tower of Jericho is one of the oldest discovered towers in the world. Standing over 8.5 meters high, the stone structure features an internal staircase with 22 steps. It was built within a massive stone wall that reached 3.6 meters in height and 1.8 meters in width at its base. Estimates suggest the construction of this wall and tower would have required a hundred men working for more than a hundred days, indicating significant social organization.
Umayyad Architecture at Hisham's Palace
Located at Khirbet al-Mafjar, Hisham's Palace is an 8th-century Umayyad 'desert castle' likely commissioned by Caliph Walid ibn Yazid rather than its namesake, Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik. The complex includes two mosques, a courtyard, and world-renowned mosaics. Construction was halted by the Caliph's assassination in 744 CE, and the unfinished structure was subsequently devastated by an earthquake in 747 CE. Despite its ruinous state, the site remains a primary example of early Islamic palatial architecture, featuring sophisticated geometric and figural mosaic pavements that are still visible in situ.
Natufian Hunter-Gatherer Foundations
Jericho's history of human activity predates the invention of agriculture, beginning with Natufian hunter-gatherers around 10,000 BCE. During the Younger Dryas period, the Ein es-Sultan spring served as a vital camping ground, evidenced by a scattering of crescent-shaped microlith tools. By approximately 9600 BCE, as the climate stabilized, these groups transitioned from seasonal use to year-round permanent settlement. The earliest structures at Tell es-Sultan include circular dwellings made of sun-dried clay and straw bricks, plastered with mud mortar, each measuring roughly 5 meters across with mud-smeared brush roofs.
World's Lowest Elevation Urban Center
Jericho is recognized as the lowest city in the world, situated at an elevation of 258 meters below sea level. Located in the Jordan Valley oasis of Wadi Qelt, the city's environment is sustained by the Ein es-Sultan spring, which produces approximately 3.8 cubic meters of water per minute. This abundant water source irrigates roughly 10 square kilometers of land through a network of channels before feeding into the Jordan River. This unique geography created a 'hot desert climate' that has attracted continuous human habitation for millennia.
The Roman-Era Goliath Family Tomb
Excavations west of classical Jericho revealed a large 1st-century CE Jewish cemetery, most notably the 'Goliath family tomb.' This rock-cut complex consists of two plastered chambers connected by a staircase, with the upper chamber decorated with frescoes of vines, grapes, and birds. Archaeologists recovered 22 ossuaries, 14 of which bear inscriptions in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. The nickname 'Goliath' found on several ossuaries likely refers to the exceptional height of the deceased. One ossuary belongs to Theodotus, a freedman of Queen Agrippina the Younger, dating his burial to 50–59 CE.
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Skull Portraiture
During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, approximately 6800 BCE, Jericho inhabitants practiced a unique cult involving the preservation and reconstruction of human skulls. Archaeologists discovered ten skulls where facial features were reconstituted using painted plaster, with cowrie shells frequently used to represent eyes. These artifacts are considered some of the earliest examples of portraiture in art history. While the bodies were buried beneath house floors or in rubble, these modeled skulls were kept within the homes, possibly serving as teraphim or ancestral representations.
Hasmonean and Herodian Winter Resorts
During the Second Temple period, the Hasmonean dynasty and later Herod the Great established elaborate winter palaces at Tulul Abu el-'Alayiq. The Hasmoneans engineered complex aqueducts to supply water for swimming pools and the cultivation of luxury crops like balsam and persimmon. Herod expanded these estates, adding a third palace, a hippodrome-theater, and further irrigation systems. These developments transformed Jericho into a garden city and a premier winter resort for the Jerusalem aristocracy, utilizing the region's unique climate to produce date wine and highly valued ointments.
Crusader Industrial Sugar Production
During the 12th century, the Crusaders transformed Jericho's agricultural landscape by scaling up sugarcane production into a major industry. The archaeological site of Tawahin es-Sukkar, meaning 'sugar mills,' preserves the remains of a large-scale Crusader production facility. While sugarcane was likely introduced during the earlier Arab period, the Crusaders are credited with industrializing the process. Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi noted in 1226 that the sugar produced in Jericho's Ghaur land was considered the best in the region, highlighting the city's continued economic importance through the Ayyubid period.