Ancient Jericho / Tell es-Sultan

تل السلطان

Palestine · Jericho and Al-Aghwar

SettlementIntermittent excavationUNESCO · 2023
Approximate period10,500 BCE — 600 BCEPre-Pottery Neolithic, Pottery Neolithic and Bronze Age See on the map ↓

In brief

Tell es-Sultan is a prehistoric and Bronze Age settlement mound northwest of modern Jericho. Excavations documented monumental structures from early settled life and the defensive systems of the later Canaanite city.

What was found?

  • 1Neolithic tower

    It is one of the early settlement's monumental structures. It shows that Neolithic communities could undertake large-scale collective construction.

  • 2Neolithic wall and ditch

    These are large structures documented alongside the tower at the settlement. They make visible the labor devoted to organizing a permanent settlement.

  • 3Skulls with faces modeled in plaster

    The facial areas of human skulls were shaped with clay or plaster, and seashells were placed in their eyes. According to researchers, these may be connected with commemorating deceased individuals or ancestors.

  • 4Bronze Age defensive structures

    The large Middle Bronze Age defensive system documents a developed Canaanite city-state. It shows the site's phases of urbanization after the Neolithic village.

What does it point to?

Tell es-Sultan shows that settled communal life developed alongside large construction projects and changing forms of subsistence. According to researchers, the modeled skulls indicate that relationships with the dead held an important place in community memory.

What did it teach us?

  1. It showed that monumental communal structures were built during the Neolithic period.
  2. It documented practices in which human remains were carefully modeled and preserved.
  3. It revealed development at the same location from an early settlement to a complex Bronze Age city-state.

Record

Culture
Neolithic communities and Canaanite
Team / historical
Sapienza University of Rome and Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
Coordinates
31.8713°, 35.4441°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. mvoem.web.uniroma1.it
  3. Birmingham Müzeleri — Modellenmiş insan kafatası
  4. Ashmolean Müzesi — Eriha kafatası

Nearby excavations


—
—
12.000

From beneath the soil: latest discoveries

  • 2,600-year-old mudbrick structure identified beneath the city of Buto in Egypt

    The walls of a large mudbrick structure identified through satellite and geophysical surveys were confirmed by a trial excavation. According to the researchers, a layer of sand placed beneath the foundations may have helped protect the structure in the waterlogged ground of the Nile Delta.

    Heritage Daily ↗ · Excavation notebook
  • Celtic woman's grave containing jewelry and animal remains found in Germany

    A woman's skeleton, heavy bronze anklets, a sapropelite arm ring, and the remains of a lamb or kid were found in the grave in Bavaria. According to the researchers, placing the animal in the grave as a food offering represents an unusual example of Celtic funerary practices in the region.

    Arkeofili ↗
  • Cupboard containing personal belongings, childhood amulets and coins found in Pompeii

    Grooming items, 38 bronze coins and a necklace made up of at least 24 amulets were found in a cupboard in a house in Pompeii that had remained closed since the eruption in AD 79. The preservation of these objects together provides detailed information about everyday life and personal mementos in Roman times.

    Arkeofili ↗ · Excavation notebook
  • Lead seal of a bishop named Stefan found in Croatia

    Excavations on the islet of Lukovac uncovered a document seal bearing the name Stefan and the title of bishop in Latin. According to the researchers, the seal, tentatively dated to the 6th–7th centuries, offers rare evidence of early church administration in a region with limited written sources.

    Heritage Daily ↗
  • Roman-period sarcophagus of a child buried with toys found in Romania

    A wheeled toy horse, a rooster-shaped rattle, jewelry and organic remains were recovered from a sealed child’s sarcophagus dating back approximately 1,800 years in the ancient city of Tomis. The preservation of wooden coffin fragments and the shroud also offers a rare opportunity to study child burials in Roman times.

    HeritageDaily ↗
  • Roman-period grave found in the seating area of the ancient theater in Gölyazı

    A tile-covered grave dating to the 1st century AD and containing cremated human remains was uncovered in the theater of Apollonia ad Rhyndacum. Why the burial took place in the theater despite the city having a separate cemetery remains unknown; the find raises new questions about the use of public spaces.

    Arkeofili ↗
  • Marble portrait of Antinoos and 13 inscriptions found at Teos

    A marble portrait of Antinoos and 13 inscriptions on reused stone blocks were found around the Temple of Roma and Augustus at Teos. The inscriptions shed light on the city’s political and legal relations, while researchers say the portrait and inscription fragments show that the temple was also connected to the cult of Antinoos.

    Arkeofili ↗ · Excavation notebook
  • New prehistoric settlement identified on the shore of the Dardanelles

    A newly published study presented Yaylatepe Höyük, identified during surface surveys in 2024, and its pottery spanning the end of the Late Chalcolithic to the beginning of the Late Bronze Age for the first time. According to the researcher, the settlement, which has a visual connection with Asartepe on the opposite shore, contributes to understanding prehistoric coastal connections along the strait.

    Arkeoloji Dergisi ↗

    All excavation sites (385)

    Türkiye

    Kazakhstan

    Federated States of Micronesia

    Guatemala

    Honduras

    North Macedonia

    Sri Lanka