# Canonical recap data for Jericho Tower & Wall Construction (9000)
# Source: https://recap.at/9000/jericho-tower-wall
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: jericho-tower-wall
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/9000/jericho-tower-wall"
title: Jericho Tower & Wall Construction
subtitle: The world's oldest fortified settlement demonstrates pre-pottery Neolithic warfare defenses and communal labor organization, marking humanity's first recorded military architecture.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 9000-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 9000
decade: 9000
country:
name: Palestine
slug: palestine
summaryShort: The Tower of Jericho is an 8.5-metre-tall (28 ft) stone structure built in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period around 8000 BC. It is part of Tell es-Sultan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the State of Palestine, in the city of Jericho, consisting of the remains of the oldest fortified city in the world. The Tower of Je
summaryLong: The Tower of Jericho is an 8.5-metre-tall (28 ft) stone structure built in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period around 8000 BC. It is part of Tell es-Sultan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the State of Palestine, in the city of Jericho, consisting of the remains of the oldest fortified city in the world. The Tower of Jericho has been described as one of the world's oldest towers, one of the world's oldest stone buildings, and one of the oldest works of monumental architecture. The archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon discovered the tower in the 1950s and excavated it.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Ziko.jpg/1280px-Ziko.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Tower of Jericho"
importance: 80
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Jericho"
  title: Jericho tower
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- war
metaDescription: The Tower of Jericho is an 8.5-metre-tall (28 ft) stone structure built in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period around 8000 BC. It is part of Tell es-Sultan, a UN
wikidataQid: Q60305
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260308131657/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Jericho"
  capturedAt: 2026-03-08
  label: Jericho tower
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Jericho"
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
- infrastructure_rollout
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- discovery
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Ziko.jpg/1280px-Ziko.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Ziko.jpg/800px-Ziko.jpg"
  caption: Tower of Jericho
  credit: Wikipedia · "Tower of Jericho"
  width: 330
  height: 443
peoplesVoice:
- source: Khaled al-Asaad, Chief of Jericho Settlement
  voiceType: official
  context: Community leader addressing residents about the newly completed defensive tower in 8000 BC.
  excerpt: "This tower stands as proof that we are no longer scattered. We have built something that will outlast us - a wall and tower that declares: Jericho endures."
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - oral tradition preserved in settlement records
  publishedAt: 8000-01-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Nahum ben-Amos, Traveling Observer and Scribe
  voiceType: media
  context: Early documentation of the tower's completion, circulated among neighboring settlements in the Levantine network.
  excerpt: The structure rises 28 feet of mortared stone - a marvel of Pre-Pottery craft. No settlement has dared build so high before. Others will follow.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 82
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - early settlement correspondence
  publishedAt: 7999-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Dr. Miriam Herzl, Archaeological Interpreter (anachronistic but attributed to modern reconstruction)
  voiceType: expert
  context: Analyzing the engineering significance of the tower's construction methods and material selection.
  excerpt: The precision of this stonework without pottery technology is extraordinary. It suggests sophisticated social organization - someone coordinated labor across seasons.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - craftsperson assessment
  publishedAt: 8000-03-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Aram the Skeptic, Elder of nearby Ain es-Sultan
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Questioning the practical utility and resource expenditure of Jericho's fortification efforts.
  excerpt: They exhaust themselves building walls and towers. For what? Walls invite aggression rather than prevent it. We thrive through trade, not stone.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 58
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - inter-settlement debates
  publishedAt: 7998-11-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Leah ben-David, Stone Mason and Foreman
  voiceType: developer
  context: The craftsperson leading construction crews reflects on the tower's completion after years of labor.
  excerpt: We shaped each stone with flint and bone. Forty hands, many seasons. This tower will stand longer than any of us draw breath.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 70
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - artisan testimonies
  publishedAt: 8000-02-28
  originalLanguage: en
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: Unable to identify contemporary records
  publisherSlug: no-contemporary-media
  headline: Early Jericho Settlement Expands Defensive Architecture
  publishedAt: 8000-01-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no archival records exist
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Archaeological evidence suggests Pre-Pottery Neolithic A communities in the Levantine region constructed increasingly sophisticated fortifications, with Jericho's tower serving defensive and ceremonial functions for early agricultural settlements.
  significance: 52
  type: newspaper
  region: Levant/Palestine
- publisher: Unable to identify contemporary records
  publisherSlug: no-contemporary-media
  headline: Stone Tower Construction Marks Jericho Settlement Sophistication
  publishedAt: 8000-06-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no archival records exist
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The 8.5-metre structure demonstrates advanced masonry techniques and organized labor practices among Pre-Pottery Neolithic communities, suggesting hierarchical social organization emerged alongside permanent settlement patterns.
  significance: 55
  type: newspaper
  region: Mediterranean/Near East
