Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-04-02
WALLS OF JERICHO Barred
PICK AND SPADE CONFIRM
TRUTH OF BIBLE NARRATIVE.
Excavations Bring to View the
Works Of the Impregnable
Canaanitish Fortress.

Berlin Correspondence Westminster Gazette.
Within the last twelve months German
enterprise has rendered q great service
to archaeological research by bringing
again to the light of day the buried
fortress-city of Jericho, and, incidentally,
OF adding yet another link to the chain
of evidence in favor of the historical
truth of biblical records. Until the trial
excavations made in 1907 by Prof. Ernst
Sellin with Austrian financial support.
Jericho was a mere historical abstraction
of which even the exact site was doubt
full. 1t was not even certain whether the
oval plateau which lies a mile to the
north of the wretched little fellah village
called. as II in mockery. "Eriha" was
natural artificial. or, as is known today,
a combination of both. The trial excava-
tions made by DR.. Sellin proved that
from further work; and last year, with
the monetary backing of the German
Orient Society, excavations were begun
upon a great scale. For the results.
which have only just been announced,
am indebted to the learned secretary of the
society. Dr. Bruno Gueterbock. The work
last year was carried out under the gen.
eral directorate of DIR. Selin. accompanied
by DR.. Felix Langenegger as expert
architect, and Prof. Carl Watzinger as
Archaeological, with a corps of two hun
dred native workers, who laid bare the
essential features of the impregnable
Canaanitish fortress within space OF
three months.
What the Excavations Show.
That Jericho was indeed the impregnable
city it is depicted in the Bible became
visible before the excavations had gone
very far. The plateau upon which 1t Is
situated rises, indeed, only about thirty
feet above the surrounding plain. But
this egg shaped plateau. which Is some
800 meters long and 16O across at its
widest part was found to be completely
surrounded by a tremendously strong and
we'll built wall of stone and brick. and
within this wall was soon unearthed an
equally strong citadel. with inner and
outer walls and towers at the corners.
and finally an inner town. the inhabi-
tants of which were thus protected
against their foes by three walls,
each of which was impregnable to any
engines of warfare known at the time.
Such were the general features of Jericho
before the destruction. In addition to
the Notifications. large areas were laid
bare, revealing extremely well preserved
streets of houses, dating from early
Canaanitsh times and passing through
stage of ISraelitish culture up to short
ly before the birth of Christ. These, and
the usual kulturschichten, in the shape
of successive deposits of domestic utensils,
10 this.
The Area Uncovered.
Only small part of the total area
covered by Jericho has so far been laid
bare. But after the original trial excava-
tons 1t became easy to choose the most
interesting parts. First OF all comes the
outer decentralization, a work described
by DR.. Langenegger as ''cyclopean," of
which some four hundred meters. were
cleared, the parts chosen being two seq
ments on the north and south. This outer
fertilization is built in two layers, the
lower being an escarped wall of broken
stone. of an average height of five meters.
crowned by a vertical brick wall. which
was originally of great height. but. UNI
like the still perfectly preserved stone
foundation wall, has suffered severely.
Ths foundation wall is extremely well
bull. and skllfully buttressed. as Is shown
by the fact that the excavators found
not a single vertical assure. DR.. Langen- |
egger describes it as "a mighty bastion,"
and adds that the builders were past |
masters in the art of broken-srone con- |
struction, and their work is done as no |
beginner could have done 1t. |