| Tower of Jericho | |
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Shown within Palestinian territories
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| Region | West Bank |
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| Coordinates | |
| Type | Tower |
| History | |
| Periods | PPNA |
| Cultures | Sultanian |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1952–1958 |
| Archaeologists | Kathleen Kenyon, Roy Liran and Ran Barkai |
| Condition | Ruins |
The Tower of Jericho is an 8.5-metre-tall (28 ft) stone structure, built in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period around 8000 BCE.[1] It is among the earliest stone monuments of mankind.[2]
The Wall of Jericho was discovered by John Garstang during the excavations of 1930 to 1936, which he suggested were those described in the Book of Joshua in the Bible and dated to around 1400 BCE.[3] Kathleen Kenyon discovered the tower outside the wall during resumed excavations between 1952 and 1958, in trench I. Kenyon provided evidence that both constructions dated much earlier, to the Neolithic stone age, and were part of an early proto-city.[3] The tower highlights the importance of Jericho for the understanding of settlement patterns in the Sultanian period in the southern Levant.[4]
Recent studies by Ran Barkai from Tel Aviv University and Roy Liran have suggested astronomical and social purposes in the construction of the tower. Showing an early example of archaeoastronomy, they used computer modelling to determine that the shadow of nearby mountains first hit the tower on the sunset of the summer solstice and then spread across the entire town.[2] Noting that there were no known invasions of the area at the time of construction, the defensive purpose of the tower, wall and ditch at Jericho has been brought into question. No burials were found and suggestions of it being a tomb have been dismissed. The tower was constructed with an internal staircase of twenty two steps and is almost 9 metres (30 ft) in diameter at the base, decreasing to 7 metres (23 ft) at the top with walls approximately 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) thick. The construction of the tower is estimated to have taken eleven thousand working days. Discussing in the Jerusalem Post, Barkai argued that the structure was used to create awe and inspiration to convince people into a harder way of life with the development of agriculture and social hierarchies. He concluded with, "We believe this tower was one of the mechanisms to motivate people to take part in a communal lifestyle."[1]
| Records | ||
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| Preceded by Tell Qaramel |
World's tallest structure c. 8000 BCE - c. 2650 BCE 8.5 m |
Succeeded by Pyramid of Djoser |