Original subtitles

♪♪

Narrator: Ancient jericho -- the site Of a legendary biblical battle.

A seven-day siege

That brings the city's Mighty walls crashing down.

But is there any truth To this tale?

Undisturbed For thousands of years,

Investigators now Unearth jericho's secrets...

I mean, this preceded the Pyramids, preceded stonehenge.

It's extraordinary.

Narrator: ...To discover not one,

But many ancient city walls Destroyed again and again.

We can see thousands And thousands and thousands,

Even tens of thousands of years Into the past.

Narrator: today, teams venture Into underground caves

And use pioneering micro-c.T. Technology

To unearth the secrets Of jericho's lost inhabitants

For the very first time,

And hunt for evidence of Violent invasions.

People didn't have the chance To retrieve their belongings.

Narrator: how does jericho rise

To become the world's First fortified city?

And who is responsible For its apocalyptic downfall?

To uncover the truth,

We'll unearth this ancient city Layer by layer.

We'll digitally reconstruct Its mighty walls,

Venture deep inside Its monumental tower,

And forensically examine Long-buried skeletons

To finally decode The legendary bible story.

--captions by vitac-- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

Jericho -- An ancient city in palestine

On the west bank Of the river jordan.

This city finds fame In the book of joshua.

Jericho is the first city Conquered by israelites

Returning from exodus in egypt,

The setting for one of the most Epic battles

In biblical history.

According to the bible, Over 3,000 years ago,

Jericho is a powerful city.

Inner and outer walls

Strengthened With rectangular towers

Offer a double layer of Protection from outside danger.

Israelites lay siege To the city

For six days and nights.

On the seventh day,

The priests triumphantly Blow rams' horns...

[ horns blowing ]

...And the walls Come tumbling down.

Jericho is conquered.

It's one of the bible's Most famous stories.

But how much of it is true?

♪♪

Archeologist mahmoud hawari Has been investigating

Ancient jericho For over 15 years.

Today, he hunts for evidence of Jericho's legendary great wall.

Hawari: Despite the legend and the Story mentioned in the bible,

Jericho is a real place.

Narrator: As soon as archeologists begin The search for the great wall,

They make a surprising Discovery.

This site is a gold mine Of evidence revealing not one,

But many ancient walls

That date back Over thousands of years.

Hawari: Jericho, or the tell es-sultan,

The ancient site of jericho,

The "Tell" is an arabic word For a mound

Where accumulation of layers Upon layers of civilizations

Are in the same place.

Narrator: beneath the top layers Of rubble and debris,

Archeologists unearth evidence Of an ancient fortified city

Surrounded by mud-brick walls And rectangular towers.

Deeper down,

An older wall encircles 70 mud-brick houses

Built on stone foundations.

Excavation to the deepest level Reveals an even older city

With walls 12 feet high And 5 feet wide,

And a huge cylindrical tower That rises 28 feet into the air.

But do any of these walls Date to biblical times?

♪♪

Mahmoud examines A cross section of a wall

In the deepest excavation pit.

It's built from simple stones With mortar and earth

Between them.

The style of construction allows Mahmoud to date the walls.

Hawari: this goes back to around 9000 b.C.E.

It's quite impressive that

Now we're looking At such an old wall

Dating almost 11,000 years old.

It's extraordinary.

Narrator: if these walls Date to 11,000 years ago,

They are far older Than the bible story.

Hawari: between this wall And the biblical story

Of the storming of the city By the israelites,

We are talking about 7,000 years difference.

And that tells you that jericho Existed a long, long time ago

Before the biblical story Happened.

Narrator: carbon dating organic Material from these walls

Places their construction In the ninth millennium b.C.

And makes it The oldest city wall

Discovered Anywhere in the world.

Hawari: When this wall was built,

Humans were still roaming Around the earth,

Collecting and gathering Their food,

And they were living In open spaces or in caves.

And so that's why jericho is So special and so significant.

Narrator: are these walls Evidence of hunter gatherers

Assembling to build Huge structures

For the first time in history?

Palestinian archeologist Issa sarie

Has been excavating Ancient jericho for many years.

His findings shine a light On the first great wall

And the people who build it.

For issa, Jericho is at the heart

Of the neolithic revolution,

A transition from Hunting and gathering

To farming and settlement.

Why is jericho the chosen site

For this leap In human civilization?

The landscape offers the perfect Geographical location

For these early settlers.

The area is blessed With a natural spring.

The bible says the prophet Elisha purifies the water.

♪♪

♪♪

Jericho's spring provides A reliable and predictable

Supply of safe, fresh water

And attracts hunter gatherers To settle here

11,000 years ago.

Small communities Gather around the spring

And use the water to grow cereal And grains and raise livestock.

This is some of the first Farming on the planet.

The people start to build Permanent structures here,

Including simple homes made From mud-brick,

And mighty walls.

Eventually, jericho grows

Into a full-fledged Permanent settlement

Of more than 2,000 people

To become the world's First city.

♪♪

Hawari: this is the dawn Of human civilization,

Where things really happened

And gave way To what will become our world

Many thousands of years later.

Narrator: The walls at jericho are built By the world's first settlers

In a vast oasis 7,000 years before

The bible's story Of its destruction.

But what is the purpose Of this first great wall?

The discovery of a mysterious Tower could provide clues.

Are these monumental structures Built to defend

Against a violent invasion, As the bible describes?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: jericho -- The oldest city in the world.

Its past is intertwined With biblical stories

Of dramatic conquest And tumbling walls.

Now the discovery Of a city wall

Almost 11,000 years old traces The legend back much further

Than previously imagined.

Hawari: when you think about The pyramids

That were built around 2500 b.C.E.,

I mean, this has preceded the Pyramids, preceded stonehenge.

Narrator: Built more than 5,000 years Before these ancient wonders,

The walls of jericho are among The oldest structures

In the world.

I would imagine when people Are traveling from afar,

Coming to jericho And seeing this massive wall

For the first time,

They'd never seen Something like this before.

Narrator: why do the world's First human settlers

Build this monumental wall Here in jericho?

An unexpected discovery May provide clues to the answer

On the western edge of the city,

A monumental tower Rises 28 feet

Above the surrounding landscape.

Measuring 33 feet across, It's made from hundreds

Of handcrafted And sun-dried bricks.

Inside, a steep staircase Leads to an opening

In the tower's roof.

Outside, a fine white limestone Plaster covers the surface,

Making it a dazzling beacon On the landscape.

When they're built, Jericho's monumental wall

And tower rise taller than any Other structure on the planet.

Why do jericho's people Go to such extreme efforts

To build these Colossal structures?

Forensic anthropologist hila may

Investigates the role This tower plays

In the everyday lives Of the inhabitants of jericho.

Hila suspects The purpose of the tower

Is to provide the city dwellers With a clear line of sight --

An early warning system Or watchtower to guard

Against enemy attack.

Hila believes that these Settlers feel threatened enough

To construct This huge watchtower.

But she needs proof That the threat of attack

Is a very real one.

Hila looks for clues in bodies

Found near Jericho's crumbling walls.

Investigators unearth these 25 skeletons in a region

Called the jezreel valley.

They date back to 7000 b.C.

Hila uses pioneering Micro-c.T. Technology

To reconstruct the vertebra

And digitally enter The very bone itself.

Within the neck Of this ancient male,

She discovers something Extraordinary.

♪♪

Hila finds evidence of some Of the world's earliest weapons

And the first ever found In the region.

This neolithic arrowhead found Near jericho

Is among the oldest evidence Of warfare discovered.

The ancient city of jericho Is right to be on its guard.

People at that time, In the neolithic in jericho,

I think they're Very practical people,

And I think they wanted To defend themselves

And their own settlement.

Narrator: The tower is a monumental Symbol of strength to outsiders

That still stands to this day.

Wow.

I'm actually speechless To look into this staircase.

Narrator: But it's not a closed case.

Some experts believe The tower is not defensive,

But is central To an ancient ritual.

On the evening Of the summer solstice,

The setting sun aligns With nearby

Mount krntl And the tower,

Casting a massive shadow Over the site.

Inside the tower, A community leader

Ceremonially climbs The 22 steps,

Ascending towards the light.

When he reaches The roof of the tower,

A ceremony takes place to honor The dying rays of the sun.

At the base of the tower, The people of jericho gathered

To witness the dramatic event

That signals the start of Shorter days and longer nights.

♪♪

The tower could be the focus Of a sun-worshiping cult.

There is a controversy Over the nature

Of the function of this tower.

Narrator: Whatever its ancient purpose,

Today, the inside Of this tower is off limits.

Years after its discovery,

The tower still remains A tantalizing mystery.

Often, archeology, Unfortunately,

Doesn't give all The comprehensive answers

Narrator: And imposing defensive monolith Or a temple for worship.

Even a prototype For ziggurats and pyramids.

The oldest and tallest structure Of its time,

The tower of jericho, Is humankind's first skyscraper.

The bible tells the story

Of a violent siege At ancient jericho.

When investigators unearth Ancient houses within the walls,

They find troublesome clues Hidden beneath the floors.

Are these decapitated Skeletons conclusive evidence

That this biblical tale is true?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: ancient jericho, The world's oldest city

And the site Of a legendary biblical battle.

It lies in the shadow Of a monumental wall and tower.

It's fortifications offer safety And enable the city

To grow to over 2,000 people.

But investigators Uncover evidence

That suggests These walls are breached.

Beneath the mud-brick houses,

Archeologists make a gruesome Discovery.

Buried under The floors of homes,

They unearth decapitated Human skeletons.

Nearby, they find something Even stranger --

Seven skulls with faces Made of plaster,

Their eyes inlaid with The shells of sea creatures.

Some have even been painted To imitate hair and mustaches.

Are these bizarre Skulls evidence

Of a biblical slaughter?

♪♪

Hershkovitz: There are a lot of explanation,

A lot the hypothesis raised In the last 20 or 30 years

Since the first plaster skulls Were discovered.

Narrator: Physical anthropologist Israel hershkovitz

Forensically analyzes Ancient bones.

Interesting is the chin With, like,

I myself have it here -- The depression here,

Which is nice. This is why I fall in love

With this skull.

Narrator: At tel aviv university,

Israel investigates Plastered skulls

Found in the region of jericho.

Some archeologists believe That these skulls belong

To victims of the brutal battle For jericho,

But israel has another theory.

Hershkovitz: you don't bury Your enemy inside your house.

That's something That you don't need.

You don't take the trouble

To bury your enemy Inside your house.

But what I am sure about it Is that the individuals

That are buried Under the living floor

Were members of the family Who owned the house.

Narrator: this practice Dates back to jericho's

First neolithic settlers.

But why would the people Of ancient jericho

Decapitate Their own family members?

They took care of their dead In a very peculiar way

That was important to them.

I mean, to make this Kind of a connection

Between the world of the living

And the world of the dead.

Narrator: in ancient jericho,

These decapitated heads are A powerful symbol of ancestry.

Their creation Is a time-consuming

And delicate procedure.

First, mourners dig a grave

In the plastered floor Of their house...

...And then bury the body Inside.

After a year or two, When the flesh has decomposed,

They exhume the skull From the grave.

They remove the teeth And lower jaw

And then apply plaster And decoration to the skull.

On special occasions, The family may gather together

With the skull center stage In a ceremony

To honor their ancestors.

The skulls form part of what Israel calls an ancestral cult.

You declare ownership Through your ancestor.

"My ancestors were here. They owned the land.

So this land Belongs to me, as well."

The american example Is mount rushmore,

Where you have the four Important american presidents.

"This is my land.

Here are the forefather Of the american nation."

Narrator: For israel, mount rushmore Is america's version

Of the plastered skull, Staking a claim on the land,

A declaration that goes back To ancient times.

These plastered skulls Are the earliest evidence

Of ancestor worship In the world.

And this reverence for the dead Leads jericho

To become a strong and powerful Unified city,

And for israel, A source of endless fascination.

Anthropologists are attached To the skeletons.

They're attached To some close relatives.

And you never get tired because They hide so many secrets

That they want to tell you.

It's kind of a challenge, Like saying,

"Let's see how smart you are."

Narrator: the plastered skulls Shine light on life

Inside jericho's Ancient city walls.

This city of 2,000 people Is bound together

By ancestral worship,

Protected by its mighty wall And imposing tower.

But as jericho grows From strength to strength,

It becomes a target for attack.

Can jericho's population Fend off the looming dangers?

Evidence amongst the ruins May provide clues

To the great wall's fate.

Do the walls really tumble As the bible describes?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: The ancient city of jericho,

Home to key turning points In the history of humankind --

The world's first city wall,

The origins of civilization, And an ancient skyscraper.

The biblical story of jericho Tells of a mighty siege

Tumbling the great walls Of this city.

But is there any evidence Of an event of this scale here?

Excavating deep into Jericho's past,

Archeologists discover Intriguing clues

To the city's turbulent history.

Once vertical walls Now lie flat to the ground.

Beneath them,

Investigators find a collection Of skeletons.

The bodies lie frozen in time,

Suddenly crushed by the wall.

Around them, a chaotic mixture Of bricks and fallen roof beams,

And in a nearby house, And ancestral grave

Is split in two by a huge crack Running across the floor.

Are these clues evidence Of an earth-shattering conquest,

As the bible describes?

Archeologist mahmoud hawari Suspects this devastation

Could actually be evidence Of something even bigger.

This country have been subjected To earthquakes

For many hundreds Of thousands of years.

Narrator: jericho sits along The syrian-african fault line,

Making this region a hotspot For tectonic activity.

Could earthquakes be responsible

For the collapse Of jericho's walls?

Earthquakes that are large Enough to actually cause

Structural damage to, In historic times,

To buildings are somewhere Between magnitude 4.5, 5.

Narrator: geologist elisa kagan Hunts for evidence

Of major earthquakes Of this scale

In the region's ancient past.

She ventures into soreq cave, 25 miles southwest of jericho,

To search for clues.

Kagan: caves are very protected From the elements.

In this cave, there's no rivers Rushing through it,

There's no ice floe, There's no rain,

There's no animals.

Narrator: Soreq cave is a time capsule Of geological activity.

Kagan: There's almost zero erosion,

So whatever happens, Such as a collapse

By an earthquake, Is fossilized and preserved

And we can see it,

And we can see Thousands and thousands,

Even tens of thousands of years Into the past

Narrator: When an earthquake hits,

The seismic shockwave causes Structural damage in the cave

Kagan: in the same way That buildings today

Are affected by earthquakes

And can be damaged Or completely collapse,

Stalagmite caves show damage By earthquakes.

Narrator: elisa ventures deeper Into the cave.

She discovers evidence

That a large-scale Seismic event once occurs here.

Huge sections of the cave Ceiling have collapsed.

When does this earthquake occur?

Kagan: cave deposits can provide An excellent recording

Of geological phenomena.

It affects the cave, And therefore,

Leaves signs in the cave,

And these signs We can see till today.

Narrator: These mineral deposits -- Stalactites and stalagmites --

Grow slowly Over thousands of years.

They are time capsules Containing hidden clues

To the seismic events Of the past.

If you look into one of these Stalactites sliced open,

The rings in the center Are the older rings.

The outer rings Are the younger parts.

And within these rings, There's a lot of information.

Narrator: close examination Of the stalactites

From the collapsed ceiling

Allows elisa To date the earthquake.

Kagan: here we can see that part Of the collapsed ceiling.

We took small, tiny samples Here, used them for dating.

And these darker layers Are post-earthquake regrowth,

And this particular Earthquake occurred

Approximately 6000 b.C.

Narrator: this earthquake Could be strong enough

To make jericho's Mud-brick walls crumble.

But this catastrophic event Occurs

4,500 years Before the bible story is set.

Elisa finds evidence of many More earthquakes

In the following years,

But archeological discoveries Also show

That the people of jericho Don't abandon the city.

Each time a major earthquake Destroys jericho's walls,

The city's engineers set out To rebuild them

Bigger and stronger than before.

They reinforced The original single layer

With wider double Mud-brick walls,

Making it much sturdier.

By 3000 b.C.,

Jericho's builders erect Even stronger walls

Plastered with a clay mortar

To bind the structure More tightly together.

1,000 years later,

Engineers build An artificial slope of earth

Called a glacis To support the outer wall

And give it extra strength.

For thousands of years, The people of jericho endure

These earth-shattering Natural disasters.

However, one layer Of destruction stands out.

Hawari: I'm standing in front Of the city gate

From the early bronze age, And here the archeologists

Have found A very thick layer of ashes

And burned organic stuff, Including pieces of wood.

It's going outside The city wall,

Expanding for I would say maybe 15 feet.

It could be caused by a fire Or as a result of an invasion.

Narrator: this ash layer Is unlike any other evidence

Of destruction found in jericho.

The layer dates to the middle Of the second millennium b.C.

And is discovered Across the entire city.

What causes this fierce inferno?

Could the bible story of The battle of jericho be true?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: The ancient city of jericho.

Over its 11,000-year life,

The city endures Many major earthquakes,

Its famous walls tumbled To the ground again and again.

But each time, The people bounce back,

Rebuilding their walls bigger, Stronger, and better.

By the second millennium b.C.,

Jericho is a wealthy city with An estimated 3,000 inhabitants.

Hawari: In the middle bronze age,

Starting from around 2000 b.C.E.

Until 1650,

That is a time when Really jericho as a city peaked.

Narrator: But according to the bible,

The city is finally destroyed By invading israelites

Who bring the walls Crashing down.

An ancient ash layer discovered Along the city walls

Suggests this story Could have roots in reality.

Jewish scholars write the story Of the siege of jericho

In the bible's book of joshua.

They describe a seven-day siege,

The start of the israelite Conquest of canaan,

A region that includes Present-day

Israel and palestine.

In the book, The israelites storm jericho

And burn it to the ground.

Archeologists search For evidence of this conquest.

Do further excavations At ancient jericho align

With the biblical tale?

Inside the walls Of the ancient city,

The ash layer measures More than three feet thick

Across the entire site,

Evidence the city is destroyed In a fire of huge proportions,

Exactly as the bible describes.

Within the ash,

Jericho's famous double Fortification walls

Like collapsed, again, Like the biblical story.

And amidst the debris,

Archeologists find several large Jars filled with grain,

A tantalizing hint that the city Is not captive for long,

Aligning with the account Of a short seven-day siege.

Is this evidence That a violent siege

Is the downfall of jericho?

♪♪

The answer can be found

Not at jericho, But 50 miles north at megiddo,

Known to history As the site of armageddon.

The name armageddon Is probably a corruption

In greek of the hebrew "Har megiddo,"

The mound of megiddo,

The place where the final battle Between the forces of god

And the forces of evil Will take place.

Narrator: Archeologist israel finkelstein Heads up excavations here.

Megiddo is special Because it has

The full sequence of occupation.

You can see In the remains behind

The full sequence Of destruction layers.

Narrator: Over a century of investigation,

Archeologists discovered 25 destruction layers at megiddo

From the end Of the sixth millennium b.C.

To the 5th century b.C.

They show the city is besieged

And destroyed more Than any other in history.

It's a treasure trove Of evidence.

And like jericho, It's said to be destroyed

By the israelites In their conquest of canaan.

You can see over here, Look at this.

There's ash over here.

During the excavation,

It's very easy to identify The breaks

And the fire and the collapse, But whoever did this came here

With the idea of annihilating The city altogether.

Narrator: in megiddo, like Jericho, there is evidence

Of total destruction Across the entire city.

♪♪

So here we -- on the floor, Many vessels broken.

People could not -- they even Didn't have the chance

To retrieve their belongings.

So everything is on the floor. Very good for archeologists.

Very tragic for the people Of the time.

The question, of course, Is mainly how to translate

It into history.

Who did it and when?

Narrator: but dating Destruction layers to the time

Of the israelite conquest Is a challenge.

There is no way to tell From archeology to history

Without establishing A good dating system.

So because of our radiocarbon Dating program here at megiddo,

We are in a situation To stabilize that chronology.

Narrator: radiocarbon dating can Reliably date organic material

As far back as 50,000 years ago.

At megiddo, Israel's team collects

Hundreds of samples Of charcoal and pottery

And sends them for dating.

Do these samples date To biblical times?

There are four big destructions At megiddo --

One in around 1100 b.C., Another one in the 10th century,

Another in the 9th, And another in the 8th.

Narrator: experts date The israelite conquest of canaan

Described in the book of joshua To the 13th century b.C.

None of the destruction layers That megiddo match this date.

Finkelstein: the places which Are referred to specifically

As having been Destroyed by joshua,

They have no evidence For destruction.

In the 13th century b.C., The supposed time of joshua.

Narrator: meticulous forensic Investigation of megiddo

Reveals it is not attacked By invading israelites

As the book of joshua states.

This leads archeologists To rule out a jewish conquest

Of jericho, too.

Hawari: when the story Of the conquest of joshua

Was supposed to take place,

Which is around the 13th Or 14th century,

Jericho was abandoned.

There was no inhabitants Who live in jericho

And the city was in ruins.

Narrator: Jericho's ash layer dates Its destruction two centuries

Before joshua's Biblical conquest.

By then, its ancient walls Have lain abandoned

For hundreds of years.

The story is a mythical story And does not have any proof.

Narrator: If the bible story isn't true,

What can explain the legendary Conquest of canaan?

And who is behind the attack

That finally brings these Famous walls tumbling down?

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: The great walls of jericho, Tumbling again and again

Through centuries of Earthquakes and conquests.

Archeological evidence Suggests the ancient site

Lies abandoned In the 13th century b.C.,

The time of the legendary Battle of jericho

Described in the bible.

So who is responsible

For finally razing its walls To the ground?

Archeologists israel finkelstein Believes the culprits

Also destroyed the neighboring Canaanite city of megiddo.

Whoever came here had the idea Of completely devastating,

Annihilating this city.

Narrator: Israel turns to an incredible Ancient source for clues

To the identity Of the invaders --

A set of clay tablets Called the amarna letters.

Found in the ancient city Of amarna in egypt,

The astonishing collection Of nearly 400 clay tablets

Reveal the mighty Egyptian pharaohs

May have a keen interest In canaan.

Finkelstein: politically, Geographically, historically,

They open a window for us Into their affairs in canaan.

They tell us a lot about Hostilities,

But we don't really know How bad the hostilities were.

Narrator: Egypt is a military superpower,

Aggressively annexing Its neighbors.

Are jericho, megiddo,

And other canaanite cities Attacked by egypt?

An empire such as The egyptian pharaohs

In their late bronze age,

They come organize And they take the seizures.

Narrator: israel believes it's Not possible for the egyptians

To be behind the conquest.

We are not dealing here With a well-organized empire

Coming here In order to conquer and stay,

But skirmishes here and there.

Narrator: And because there is no big Destruction layer at megiddo

At this time, he suspects A more local invader.

The highlands not so far From us,

30, 40 kilometers to the south.

And in the highlands, We definitely see

A big wave Of settlement activity

In the middle bronze age, So something happened,

Some sort of disturbance In the 16th century b.C.

♪♪

Narrator: Israel believes the people of The highlands south of megiddo

Lay waste to the city.

They storm across modern-day Israel and palestine,

Heading towards jericho.

They smash down its walls,

Burn it to the ground, And leave it in ruins.

The highlanders are expanding To the lowlands.

They are destroying cities In the process

One after the other.

Narrator: if these highlanders Are responsible

For the conquest of canaan,

How does the biblical story Of the tumbling walls

Of jericho come to be?

After the highlanders Burn jericho to the ground,

All that remains of the city Is a huge heap of ash,

Collapsed walls, And smoking debris.

For hundreds of years,

The site lies abandoned, With the charred remains serving

As an increasingly distant Reminder of what happened here.

In the early iron age, Around 1200 b.C.,

Israelites begin to emerge In canaan,

Close to the ancient ruins Of jericho.

Local tales and legends Grow up around the ruins,

But they aren't written down Until centuries later.

♪♪

The book of joshua

Describing the israelite Conquest of jericho

Is written in The 6th century b.C.

From the archeology Point of view,

We know today there is no Conquest of canaan.

The biblical battle of jericho With trumpeting horns

Tumbling the walls May never have occurred.

But this ancient site Is far more

Than just the birthplace Of an epic biblical tale.

It is the origin of humanity As we know it.

Jericho sees the birth Of civilization

11,000 years ago when Our nomadic ancestors settle,

Build a city with great walls,

Construct the world's First skyscraper,

And face besieging armies.

This is the site Of epic defense,

Destruction, and invasion, A city like no other,

Inspiring the bible story That survives to this day.

♪♪

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