Jericho Tower

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tower of Jericho, Tell es-Sultan archaeological site

The tower of Jericho on Tell es-Sultan on the edge of the later Jericho is attributed to the Pre-Ceramic Neolithic A (PPNA, 9th millennium BC ) and is therefore the oldest known tower in the world. It is 8.25 m high and has a base diameter of approximately 8 m and a diameter of 7 m at the top. Inside the tower is the world's oldest known staircase with 22 steps. The tower is made of unworked pieces of stone, the stairs were made of worked stone slabs. The tower was part of a wall about three meters high , the purpose of which is unclear.

archeology

The tower of Jericho was discovered and uncovered in the course of excavations in 1952 at Tell es-Sultan under the direction of Kathleen Kenyon . It dates from between 8300 and 7800 BC. Chr.

interpretation

The excavator, Kathleen Kenyon, thought the tower was part of a fortification. As early as 1968, J. Perot doubted this interpretation, since the tower was behind and not in front of the wall. Olivier Aurenche compared the construction of the structure with the wall of Beidha and considered it to be a measure to support the wall. Ofer Bar-Yosef , who examined the position of the tower and the wall, saw in them a protection against floods and mudslides. In 2006, Oliver Aurenche interpreted the tower as a meeting room, perhaps for religious purposes.

Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University propose that the tower was built on the spot where the shadow of the neighboring mountain Qarantal obscures the settlement at the summer solstice . The stairs in the tower axis are aligned to this point (290 ° azimuth ).

literature

  • Gotthard G. Reinhold: At sunrise on the Tell. Greiner, Remshalden 2003. ISBN 3-935383-24-X
  • Adel Yahya: Jericho. History, archaeological and religious sites. Travel Guide. The Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange, Ramallah 2005.
  • Angelika Franz: Guardian in the night. In: Der Spiegel . Hamburg 2011.9, p. 122. ISSN  0038-7452 (after "Antiquity." )

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ofer Bar-Yosef , The Walls of Jericho: An alternative interpretation. Current Anthropology 27/2, 1986, 157. JSTOR 2742981
  2. ^ Ofer Bar-Yosef, The Walls of Jericho: An alternative interpretation. Current Anthropology 27/2, 1986, 157. JSTOR 2742981
  3. ↑ Kenyon, KM: Digging Up Jericho. London, Ernest Benn, 1957.
  4. ↑ Kathleen M. Kenyon , Holland, TA (Ed.): Excavation at Jericho, Volume 3: the architecture and stratigraphy of the tel. London: British School of Archeology at Jerusalem, 1981.
  5. ^ Ofer Bar-Yosef, The Walls of Jericho: An alternative interpretation. Current Anthropology 27/2, 1986, 157. JSTOR 2742981
  6. ↑ Kathleen M. Kenyon, Digging Up Jericho. London, Ernest Benn, 1957
  7. ^ J. Perot, La préhistoire palestinienne. Supplément au Dictionnaire de la Bible (Commencé par Louis Pirot et André Robert; continué sous la direction de Henri Cazelles et André Feuillet), Vol. 3, Paris, Letouzey & Ané 1968, lines 286-446
  8. ↑ Olivier Aurenche 1981, Maison orientale, l'architecture du Proche-Orient ancien des origines au milieu du IV millénaire , Paris, Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 108–110
  9. ^ Ofer Bar-Yosef, The Walls of Jericho: An alternative interpretation. Current Anthropology 27/2, 1986, 157-162. JSTOR 2742981
  10. ↑ Olivier Aurenche, La tour de Jéricho, encore et toujours. Syria 83, 2006 (Hommage à Henri de Contenson), 63–68. JSTOR 40649380
  11. ^ Roy Liran, Ran Barkai: Casting a shadow on Neolithic Jericho. In: "Antiquity" 85, 2011, 327. ISSN  0003-598X (original article in English)

Web links

Coordinates: 31 ° 52 ′ 18.2 "  N , 35 ° 26 ′ 40.4"  E