Tower of Jericho

The Tower of Jericho at Tell es-Sultan on the edge of the later Jericho is the preceramic Neolithic A ( PPNA, 9th millennium BC) attributed, making it the oldest tower in the world. He is 8.25 m high and has a base diameter of about eight meters. Inside the tower, the world's oldest known stairs with 20 steps is. The tower was part of some three meters high wall, whose purpose is unclear.

Archeology

The Tower of Jericho was in the course of excavations in 1952 discovered and excavated at Tell es-Sultan, under the direction of John Garstang. In a recent publication by archaeologists from the University of Tel Aviv, it is argued that the tower was built on the site where the shadow of the neighboring summit of Quarantals obscured at the time of the summer solstice the settlement. The staircase in the tower axis is aligned to this point (290 ° azimuth).