Jericho - Oldest Recorded Town - 9,500 BC

Of the earlier much larger site, bounded by the 600 metre x 9 metre x 3 metre rock cut ditch, part of which is seen on the right of this lithograph, Kathleen Kenyon, in charge of the excavation of the ancient town, reached the following conclusion:

The whole is a remarkable piece of military planning, and its date must be in the neighbourhood of 8,000 BC, since a Carbon 14 dating of 7,825 BC was obtained Stage IV phase (iii).

This date now needs correcting by plus 1,500 years giving the date for the worlds oldest recorded town at 9,500 BC.

From Wonders of the Past

Golden Age Project Comment