The most ancient cities in the world. The most ancient city on earth

16.10.2019

The most ancient cities in the world - some of them disappeared from the face of the earth forever, leaving only ruins and memories. And there are settlements whose names have paved a long way in history and have survived to this day. Their streets are full of architectural sights, magnificent in their beauty and monumentality, looking at which you are mentally transported back to the depths of centuries.

Jericho is the oldest city on Earth

The Judean Hills dominate the West Bank. At their foot, at the mouth of the river flowing into the Dead Sea, is the ancient city in the world - Jericho. On its territory, archaeologists have discovered fragments of ancient buildings dating back to 9500 BC. e.

The history of this settlement was described in the Old Testament. It is also mentioned in Roman chronicles. There is a legend that Jericho was brought as a gift to Cleopatra by Mark Antony. But magnificent buildings in this city were built by King Herod, who received rule over this city from the Emperor of Rome, Augustus. It was during his era that many monuments appeared ancient architecture, preserved in this city to this day.
There are also records that the Christian church appeared in Jericho in the first century AD. Constant raids by Bedouins and hostility between Muslims and knights led to the decline of the city by the 9th century. AD In the 19th century, the Turks destroyed the once prosperous center ancient world Jericho.

It was only in 1920 that the oldest city in the world, Jericho, received its second life. Arabs began to populate it. Now it is permanently home to approximately 20,000 people.

The main attraction is the Tel es-Sultan hill, on which stands a tower dating back to the 6000th century. BC.

Nowadays, military operations are constantly taking place in Jericho, a disputed land between Palestine and Israel. For this reason, the beauty of this place is hidden from tourists. At the very least, the governments of many countries do not recommend their citizens to visit it.

Famous surviving cities of antiquity

Over the course of many centuries, civilizations developed and cities appeared. Some of them were destroyed as a result of wars or natural disasters. Few of the most ancient cities in the world, which have survived multiple changes of eras, can still be visited today:

On earth, which are named as the most ancient cities in the world. Many of them are still being destroyed today, despite the establishment of special protection regimes by the international organization UNESCO.

Russia - ancient country. And on its territory there are many cities whose age has exceeded a thousand years. Historical and cultural heritage, which they preserved, is an invaluable gift from generations already gone to future generations.

We present to you the oldest cities in Russia.

The official founding date of one of the cities that now make up Golden ring Russia is considered to be 990. And the founder is Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich.

Under the leadership of Vladimir Monomakh and Yuri Dolgoruky, the city became an important stronghold for the defense of the Rostov-Suzdal principality. And under Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, Vladimir became the capital of the principality.

During the Tatar raids (1238 and later), the city surprisingly did not suffer much. Even the Golden Gate has survived to this day, although in a slightly different form from its original form.

On the territory of Vladimir there is the Vladimir Central prison, glorified by Mikhail Krug, built under Catherine II. It contained the following famous personalities, like Vasily Stalin, son of Joseph Stalin, Mikhail Frunze and dissident Julius Daniel.

9. Bryansk -1032 years

It is not known exactly when exactly the city of Bryansk arose. The approximate date of its foundation is considered to be 985.

In 1607, the city was burned so that it would not fall to False Dmitry II. It was rebuilt and for the second time survived the siege of the troops of the “Tushinsky Thief”.

In the 17th century, Bryansk was one of the most important shopping centers Russia. And currently it is an important industrial center of the country.

8. Pskov – 1114 years

The founding date of Pskov is considered to be 903, when the city was first mentioned in the Laurentian Chronicle. Olga, the first Christian princess in Rus' and wife Prince of Kyiv Igor Rurikovich, originally from Pskov.

For a long time, Pskov was one of the largest cities in Europe and was an impregnable barrier on the western borders of the country.

And in March 1917, while at Pskov station, the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II abdicated the throne and became simply a Romanov citizen.

7. Smolensk - 1154 years

In September, beautiful and ancient Smolensk will celebrate its anniversary - 1155 years since its founding. It is only one year behind its closest rival in terms of mention in the chronicles (863 versus 862 for Murom).

For many centuries, this “key city” protected Moscow from attacks by a number of European countries. IN Time of Troubles Residents of Smolensk heroically held a siege for 20 months in the fortress, which was besieged by Polish troops. Although the Poles still managed to take the city, King Sigismund III, who spent all his money on the siege, had to abandon the idea of going to Moscow. And the Moscow garrison of Poles, who did not receive military assistance, surrendered to the Russian militia under the leadership of Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin.

6. Murom – 1155 years

This small city, located on the left bank of the Oka, is mentioned in the Tale of Bygone Years. Its name supposedly came from the Muroma tribe, although historians do not rule out an inverse relationship. One of the main characters of the Russian epic epic, the legendary hero Ilya Muromets, comes from the city of Murom. The townspeople are proud of this and even erected a monument to the hero in the city park.

5. Rostov the Great - 1156 years

Rostov, the current center of the Yaroslavl region, traces its official chronology back to 862. After its founding, the city became one of the most important settlements in the Rostov-Suzdal land. And he got the prefix “Great” thanks to the Ipatiev Chronicle. In it, when describing the events of 1151 (the victory of Prince Izyaslav Mstislavich over Yuri Dolgoruky), Rostov was called the Great.

4. Veliky Novgorod – 1158 years

At the beginning of June 2018, Veliky Novgorod will celebrate the 1159th anniversary of its founding. According to the official version, Rurik was called to reign here. And in 1136 Novgorod became the first in history feudal Rus' free republic. The city avoided the fate of many Russian cities and was not affected Mongol invasion. Precious architectural monuments of Rus' from the pre-Mongol period have been preserved in it to this day.

3. Old Ladoga - over 1250 years old

In 2003, the village of Staraya Ladoga celebrated its 1250th anniversary. Until 1703, the settlement was called “Ladoga” and had the status of a city. The first mention of Ladoga dates back to 862 AD (the time of the calling of the Varangian Rurik to reign). There is even a version that Ladoga is the first capital of Rus', because Rurik reigned there, and not in Novgorod.

2. Derbent - over 2000 years

If you conduct a survey about which is the most Old city in Russia, then most educated people will name Derbent as such. This sun-drenched city, the southernmost in Russia, located in the Republic of Dagestan, officially celebrated its 2000th anniversary in September 2015. However, many Derbent residents, as well as some scientists conducting excavations on the territory of Derbent, are confident that the city is 3000 years older.

The Caspian Gate - that’s exactly what it is ancient name Derbent - as a geographical object was mentioned back in the 6th century. Don  e. in the works of the ancient Greek geographer Hecataeus of Miletus. And the beginning of the modern city was laid in 438 AD.  e. Then Derbent was the Persian fortress of Naryn-Kala, with two fortress walls blocking the path along the shore of the Caspian Sea. And the earliest mention of Derbent as stone city was in 568 AD or the 37th year of the reign of Shah Khosrow I Anushirvan.

The date of 2000 years is not exact, but more of an anniversary date, and refers to the time of the appearance of the first fortifications in Caucasian Albania.

Until 2014, when Crimean peninsula returned to Russia, Derbent bore the title of the oldest Russian city. However, in 2017, the Rambler / Saturday media reported that The Academic Council of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences recognized Kerch as the most ancient city in Russia. The ruins of the ancient Greek colony of Panticapaeum have been preserved on the territory of the city. Historically, Kerch is the heir of Panticapaeum and its age has exceeded 2600 years.

According to archaeological research, the foundation of Kerch dates back to the time range from 610 to 590 BC. e. Historical and architectural monuments belonging to different eras. These include: burial mounds from the Bronze Age, the ruins of the city of Nymphaeum, the ancient settlement of Myrmekiy, etc.

Kerch did not immediately receive its current name, after Panticapaeum ceased to be historical and cultural center Black Sea region.

In the 8th century the city came under the rule Khazar Khaganate and was renamed from Panticapaeum to Karsha or Charsha.
In the 10th century, the Northern Black Sea region came under the control of the Rus. The Tmutarakan principality appeared, which included the city of Karsha, named Korchev. It was one of the most important sea gates of Kievan Rus.
In the 12th century, Korchev came under Byzantine rule, and in the 14th century it became part of the Black Sea Genoese colonies, and was called Vospro, as well as Cherchio. The local inhabitants also retained the name Korchev in everyday use.
In the 15th century, the merchant and diplomat Josaphat Barbaro, in one of the chapters of his work “Travels to Tana,” named the city Chersh (Kersh).
In 1475, the Turks captured the Genoese colonies and Cerchio became part of the Ottoman Empire. The city began to be called Cherzeti. He repeatedly suffered from raids by Zaporozhye Cossacks.
In the 16th century, ambassadors of the Moscow kings going to the Crimean Khan knew the city as “Kerch”.
In 1774, Kerch (already under its final name) became part of Russian Empire. This happened as a result Russian-Turkish War 1768-1774

In order for Kerch to officially top the list of the oldest cities in Russia, it is necessary to obtain the approval of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian government. The management of the East Crimean Nature Reserve prepared the relevant documents last year.

Many ancient cities lay claim to the right to be called the first city on Earth. We will talk about the two oldest and most ancient cities, according to archaeologists and historians. These two cities are Jericho and Hamukar. These cities existed thousands of years ago.

Jericho

First of all, the definition of “ancient city” refers to Jericho, an oasis near the place where the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. The city of Jericho, widely known in the Bible, is located here - the same one whose walls once fell from the sound of the trumpets of Joshua.

According to biblical tradition, the Israelites began the conquest of Canaan from Jericho and, after the death of Moses, under the leadership of Joshua, crossing the Jordan, they stood at the walls of this city. The townspeople, hiding behind the city walls, were convinced that the city was impregnable. But the Israelis used an extraordinary military stratagem. They walked around the city walls in a silent crowd six times, and on the seventh they shouted in unison and blew the trumpets, so loudly that the formidable walls collapsed. This is where the expression comes from "Trumpet of Jericho".

Jericho feeds on water powerful source Ain es-Sultan ( "The Sultan's Source"), to which the city owes its existence. The Arabs call the name of this source a hill north of modern Jericho - Tell es-Sultan ( "Sultan's Mountain"). Already at the end XIX century it attracted the attention of archaeologists and is still considered one of the most important sites for archaeological finds of objects from the early historical period.

In 1907 and 1908, a group of German and Austrian researchers, led by Professors Ernst Sellin and Karl Watzinger, first began excavations at Mount Sultana. They came across two parallel fortress walls, built from sun-dried bricks. The outer wall had a thickness of 2 m and a height of 8-10 m, and the thickness of the inner wall reached 3.5 m.

Archaeologists have determined that these walls were built between 1400 and 1200 BC. It is clear that they were quickly identified with those walls that, as the Bible reports, collapsed from the powerful sounds of the trumpets of the Israelite tribes. However, during the excavations, archaeologists came across the remains of construction debris, which were of even greater interest to science than the finds that confirmed the Bible’s information about the war. But the first World War suspended further scientific research.

More than twenty years passed before a group of Englishmen, led by Professor John Garstang, was able to continue their research. New excavations began in 1929 and lasted about ten years.

In 1935-1936 Garstang encountered the lowest layers of Stone Age settlements.

He discovered a cultural layer older than the 5th millennium BC, dating back to a time when people did not yet know pottery. But people of this era already led a sedentary lifestyle.

The work of Garstang's expedition was interrupted due to the difficult political situation. And only after the end of World War II did English archaeologists return to Jericho. This time the expedition was led by Dr. Kathleen M. Canyon, with whose activities all further discoveries in this ancient city in the world are associated. To participate in the excavations, the British invited German anthropologists who had been working in Jericho for several years.

In 1953, archaeologists led by Kathleen Canyon made an outstanding discovery that completely changed our understanding of the early history of mankind. Researchers made their way through 40 (!) cultural layers and discovered buildings of the Neolithic period with huge buildings dating back to the time when, it would seem, only nomadic tribes should have lived on Earth, earning their food by hunting and collecting plants and fruits. The results of excavations showed that approximately 10 thousand years ago a qualitative leap was made in the eastern Mediterranean associated with the transition to the artificial cultivation of cereals. This led to drastic changes in culture and lifestyle.

Today, Jericho A is considered the first urban settlement discovered in the Old World. Here are found the earliest permanent structures known to science, burials and sanctuaries, built from earth or small round unbaked bricks.

The pre-ceramic Neolithic settlement A occupied an area of about 4 hectares and was surrounded by a powerful defensive wall made of stone. Adjacent to it was a massive round stone tower. Initially, researchers assumed that this was a tower of a fortress wall. But obviously, it was a special-purpose structure that combined many functions, including the function of a guard post for monitoring the surrounding area.

Nuclear physicists, when studying isotopes, found that it is possible to determine the age of objects by the ratio of radioactive and stable carbon isotopes. Through sounding, it was established that the oldest walls of this city date back to the 8th millennium, that is, their age is approximately 10 thousand years. The sanctuary discovered as a result of excavations was even more ancient - 9551 BC.

There is no doubt that Jericho A, with its settled population and developed construction industry, was one of the first early agricultural settlements on Earth. Based on many years of research conducted here, historians have received absolutely new picture development and technical capabilities that humanity had 10 thousand years ago.

The transformation of Jericho from a small primitive settlement with miserable huts and huts into a real city with an area of at least 3 hectares and a population of more than 2000 people is associated with the transition local population from simple gathering of edible grains to agriculture - growing wheat and barley. At the same time, the researchers found that this revolutionary step was taken not as a result of some kind of introduction from the outside, but was the result of the development of the tribes living here: archaeological excavations Jericho showed that in the period between the culture of the original settlement and the culture of the new city, which was built at the turn of the 9th and 8th millennia BC, life here did not interrupt.

At first, the town was not fortified, but with the advent of strong neighbors, fortress walls became necessary to protect against attacks. The appearance of fortifications speaks not only of the confrontation between different tribes, but also of the accumulation by the inhabitants of Jericho of certain material values that attracted the greedy gaze of their neighbors. What were these values? Archaeologists have answered this question as well. Probably the main source of income for the townspeople was barter trade: the well-located city controlled the main resources of the Dead Sea - salt, bitumen and sulfur. Obsidian, jade and diorite from Anatolia, turquoise from the Sinai Peninsula, cowrie shells from the Red Sea were found in Jericho - all these goods were highly valued during the Neolithic period.

The fact that Jericho was a powerful urban center is evidenced by its defensive fortifications. Without the use of picks and hoes, a ditch 8.5 m wide and 2.1 m deep was cut into the rock. Behind the ditch rose a stone wall 1.64 m thick, preserved at a height of 3.94 m. Its original height probably reached 5 m , and above there was a masonry of mud bricks.

The excavations revealed a large round stone tower with a diameter of 7 m, preserved to a height of 8.15 m, with an internal staircase carefully constructed from single meter-wide stone slabs. The tower contained grain storage and clay-lined cisterns to collect rainwater.

The stone tower of Jericho was probably built at the beginning of the 8th millennium BC. and lasted for a very long time. When it ceased to be used for its intended purpose, crypts for burials began to be built in its internal passage, and the former storage facilities were used as dwellings. These rooms were often rebuilt. One of them, destroyed in a fire, dates back to 6935 BC

After this, archaeologists counted four more periods of existence in the history of the tower, and then the city wall collapsed and began to erode. Apparently, the city was already deserted at this time.

The construction of a powerful defensive system required a huge amount of labor, the use of significant labor and the presence of some central government for organizing and managing work. Researchers estimate the population of this first city in the world to be two thousand people, and this figure may be underestimated.

What did these first citizens of the Earth look like and how did they live?

An analysis of the skulls and bone remains found in Jericho showed that 10 thousand years ago, short people - just over 150 cm - with elongated skulls (dolichocephalians), who belonged to the so-called Euro-African race, lived here. They built oval-shaped dwellings from lumps of clay, the floors of which were recessed below ground level. The house was entered through a doorway with wooden jambs. There were several steps leading down. Most houses consisted of a single round or oval room with a diameter of 4-5 m, covered with a vault of intertwined rods. The ceiling, walls and floor were covered with clay. The floors in the houses were carefully leveled, sometimes painted and polished.

Despite a more comfortable habitat than that of primitive hunters, their life was extremely difficult, and average age the inhabitants of Jericho did not exceed 20 years. Infant mortality was very high, and only a few lived to be 40-45 years old. There were obviously no people older than this age in ancient Jericho.

The townspeople buried their dead right under the floors of their homes, wearing iconic plaster masks with cowrie shells inserted into the eyes of the masks on their skulls.

It is curious that in the oldest graves of Jericho (6500 BC), archaeologists mostly find headless skeletons. Apparently, the skulls were separated from the corpses and buried separately. The cultic beheading is known in many parts of the world and has been practiced down to our time. Here, in Jericho, scientists apparently encountered one of the earliest manifestations of this cult.

Not knowing how to sculpt pottery, ancient inhabitants At the same time, animal figurines and other images were sculpted from clay of Jericho. In residential buildings and tombs of Jericho, many clay figurines of animals were found, as well as stucco images of the phallus. The cult of masculinity was widespread in ancient Palestine, and its images are found in other places.

In one of the layers of Jericho, archaeologists discovered a kind of ceremonial hall with six wooden posts. It was probably a sanctuary - a primitive predecessor of the future temple. Inside this room and in its immediate vicinity, archaeologists did not find any household items, but they found numerous clay figurines of animals - horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and models of male genital organs.

Life-size group sculptures of men, women and children were also found in one of the prehistoric layers of Jericho. They were made using cement-like clay, which was spread on a reed frame. These figures were still very primitive and flat: after all, plastic art was preceded for many centuries cave drawings or images on cave walls. The found figures show how much interest the inhabitants of Jericho showed in the miracle of the origin of life and the creation of a family - this was one of the first and most powerful impressions of prehistoric man.

the emergence of Jericho - the first urban center - indicates the emergence tall forms public organization Even the invasion of more backward tribes from the north in the 5th millennium BC. could not interrupt this process, which ultimately led to the creation of highly developed ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Middle East.

Hamukar

The ruins of a city that scientists believe is at least 6,000 years old have been discovered in Syria. The discovery actually changed traditional ideas about the appearance of cities and civilization on Earth in general. It forces us to consider the spread of civilization in a new light, starting from an earlier time. Before this discovery, cities dating back to 4000 BC were discovered only in ancient Sumer - between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the territory of modern Iraq, while the last, most ancient, was found in the southeastern part of Syria under a huge hill near the village of Hamukar . The mysterious city was also named Hamukar.

For the first time, archaeologists began to actively dig the ground here back in the 1920s -1930s. Then they assumed that it was here that Vashshukani was located - the capital of the Mitanni Empire (approximately the 15th century BC), which had not yet been discovered. But no signs of settlement of this area were found then - “ Vashshukan theory" turned out to be untenable.

Many years passed, and scientists again became interested in this place. And not in vain: after all, it is located on one of the most important transport arteries of antiquity - the road from Nineveh to Aleppo, along which travelers and caravans of merchants stretched. This situation, according to scientists, provided a lot of advantages and created excellent preconditions for the development of the city.

Researchers actually discovered signs indicating its existence back in the middle of the 4th millennium BC.

Then the first cities arose one after another in Southern Iraq, and their colonies were formed in Syria.

This time, archaeologists were determined - in the most literal sense - to get to the bottom of the truth. A special Syrian-American expedition was formed to explore Hamukar, the director of which was the leader Researcher Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago McGuire Gibson. The first shovel hit the ground in November 1999. The expedition needed to get used to it, settle down, prepare the excavation area, hire local residents for heavy work...

It all started with the compilation detailed map terrain. And only then, with her help, archaeologists began the next, no less painstaking stage of work: it was necessary to carefully - almost with a magnifying glass in hand - examine the entire excavation area, collecting various shards. Such studies would provide a fairly accurate idea of the size and shape of the settlement. And luck really smiled on archaeologists - ancient cities hidden in the ground “fell out” as if from a cornucopia.

The first settlement found dates back to approximately 3209. BC. and occupied an area of about 13 hectares. Gradually it grew, its territory increased to 102 hectares, and subsequently the settlement became one of largest cities that time. Then, based on the items found, other, most interesting places for excavations. In the eastern part of the settlement, archaeologists discovered a building in which pots were fired. And the main result of the inspection of the area was the discovery of a large settlement south of the hill. Its more detailed study confirmed that this territory began to be populated at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC. If all the discovered settlements are recognized as one city, then its area will be more than 250, which is hard to believe. At that time, in the era of the birth of the first urban settlements, such a large city was a real metropolis of antiquity.

Satellites have helped scientists well. The photographs taken from them gave the researchers another idea when, 100 m from the hill, on its northern and eastern sides, they discerned a dark, twisting line, similar to a city wall, while only a small slope was visible on the ground. Further examination showed that the wall could have been located closer to the hill, and the slope was preserved from a ditch that supplied the city with water.

Excavations were carried out in three zones. The first is a trench 60 m long and 3 m wide, running along the northern slope of the hill. Its gradual digging made it possible for archaeologists to examine the development of the settlement in different eras, since each step was 4-5 m lower than the next. So: the lowest layer that scientists reached showed a city 6000 years ago!

On the next level, walls of several houses made of clay bars were discovered, as well as a huge, possibly city wall, 4 meters high and 4 meters thick. The remains of pottery underneath date back to the middle of the 4th millennium BC. Next comes a level dating back to 3200 BC. Ceramics from here refer to the creativity of the peoples of Southern Iraq, which indicates the interaction of the Syrian and Mesopotamian peoples at that time.

These houses are followed by “younger” buildings, built in the 3rd millennium BC. There are already baked brick houses and wells here. Directly above one of the houses there is a later building - from the mid-1st millennium - and then there is a modern cemetery.

Another excavation area was replete with shards. It was divided into sections of five square meters And they carefully “shoveled” all the earth. Archaeologists have discovered houses here with perfectly preserved clay walls. And inside there were a huge amount of things for a long time days gone by- all covered with a thick layer of ash. This created great difficulties for scientists: try to find burnt fragments in the cracks of the floors, in various irregularities and holes.

Soon the sources of such abundant ash were found - in one room the remains of four or five slabs made of clay bars, which were partially burned when the stoves were heated, were excavated. Around the slabs there were remains of barley, wheat, oats, and animal bones. Therefore, power stoves are used for baking bread, brewing beer, cooking meat and other products.

The ceramics discovered here amazed scientists with their diversity: large pots for preparing ordinary food, small vessels, as well as small elegant vessels, the walls of which are equal to the thickness of an ostrich egg shell. Figurines with large eyes were also found in the houses, possibly some deities from the middle of the 4th millennium BC.

But still, 15 seals in the form of carefully drawn animals tell the most complete story about the society of that era. All of them were found in one hole, presumably a grave. Also found here great amount beads made of bone, earthenware, stone and shells, some of them were so small in size that it can be assumed that they were not used as necklaces, but were woven or sewn into clothing.

The seals are carved from stone in the shape of animals. One of the largest and most beautiful seals is made in the form of a leopard, the spots on which are made using small pins inserted into drilled holes. A seal was also found, not inferior to a leopard print in beauty - in the form of a horned animal, which, unfortunately, the horns broke off. Large seals are much more varied, but there are far fewer of them than small ones, the main types of which are lion, goat, bear, dog, hare, fish and birds. The larger, more elaborate seals must have belonged to people of great power or wealth, while the smaller ones may have been used by others to denote private property.

In a small pit two meters deep in the north-eastern part of the excavation, just below the surface, the researchers discovered a wall dating back to the 7th century. AD, and a meter lower - the corner of the building, strengthened by a support with two niches. The support was installed next to the door that leads to the east. The door jamb, buttress, niches and south wall are covered with lime. Typically, such supports with niches were installed not near private, but near temple buildings. Shards of pottery found near the temple point to the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, that is, the Akkadian period, when the rulers of Akkad, a state in southern Mesopotamia, began expanding into what is now Syria. Since this is a critical period in the history of Mesopotamia, the place where so many eras are intertwined becomes the main focus of the expedition's forces in the next season.

Previously, historians assumed that the Syrian and Turkish states began to actively develop only after contact with representatives of Uruk - ancient state in Southern Iraq. But the excavations of Hamukar prove that highly developed societies appeared not only in the Tigris-Euphrates valley, but also in other areas at the same time. Some researchers even believe that civilization originally began in Syria. The discovery actually changed traditional ideas about the emergence of cities and civilization in general, forcing us to consider its birth and spread at an earlier time.

While it was previously believed that civilization began in the Uruk period (ca. 4000 BC), there is now evidence of its existence as far back as the Ubaid period (ca. 4500 BC). This means that the development of the first states began before the advent of writing and other phenomena considered criteria for the emergence of civilization. Between different peoples Vital connections began to form, people exchanged experiences. Civilization began to march across the planet with leaps and bounds!

The excavations of Hamukara promise many more discoveries, because this is the only place where the layers of 4000 BC. lie two meters from the surface and even higher.

Based on materials from 100velikih.com and bibliotekar.ru

Many ancient cities lay claim to the right to be called the first city on Earth. But first of all, this definition refers to Jericho - an oasis near the place where the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. The city of Jericho, widely known in the Bible, is located here - the same one whose walls once fell from the sound of the trumpets of Joshua.

Jericho is fed by the water of the powerful spring Ain es-Sultan (“Source of the Sultan”), to which the city owes its existence. The Arabs call the name of this source a hill north of modern Jericho - Tell es-Sultan (“Mountain of the Sultan”). Already at the end of the 19th century, it attracted the attention of archaeologists and is still considered one of the most important sites for archaeological finds of objects from the early historical period.

In 1907 and 1908, a group of German and Austrian researchers led by Professors Ernst Sellin and Karl Watzinger began excavations at Mount Sultana for the first time. They came across two parallel fortress walls, built from sun-dried bricks. The outer wall had a thickness of 2 m and a height of 8-10 m, and the thickness of the inner wall reached 3.5 m.

Archaeologists have determined that these walls were built between 1400 and 1200 BC. e. It is clear that they were quickly identified with those walls that, as the Bible reports, collapsed from the powerful sounds of the trumpets of the Israelite tribes. However, during the excavations, archaeologists came across a layer of construction debris that was of even greater interest to science than the finds that confirmed the Bible’s information about the war. But the First World War suspended further scientific research.

More than twenty years passed before a group of Englishmen led by Professor John Garstang was able to continue their research. New excavations began in 1929 and lasted about ten years. 1935–1936. Garstang had encountered the lowest layers of a Stone Age settlement. He discovered a cultural layer older than the 5th millennium BC. e., dating back to a time when people did not yet know pottery. But people of this era already led a sedentary lifestyle.

The discovery of early agricultural Jericho was an archeological sensation in the 1950s. Systematic excavations here revealed a whole series of successive layers, united into two complexes - pre-ceramic Neolithic A (8th millennium BC) and pre-ceramic Neolithic B (7th millennium BC). Today, Jericho A is considered the first urban settlement discovered in the Old World. Here are found the earliest permanent structures known to science, burials and sanctuaries, built from earth or small round unbaked bricks.

The pre-ceramic Neolithic settlement A occupied an area of about 4 hectares and was surrounded by a powerful defensive wall made of stone. Adjacent to it was a massive round stone tower. Initially, researchers assumed that this was a tower of a fortress wall. But obviously, it was not a special-purpose structure that combined many functions, including the function of a guard post to monitor the surrounding area.

Protected by a stone wall, there were round, tent-like houses on stone foundations with walls made of mud brick, one surface of which was convex (this type of brick is called "pork's back"). To more accurately determine the age of these structures, the latest scientific methods were used, such as the radiocarbon (radiocarbon) method. Nuclear physicists, when studying isotopes, found that it is possible to determine the age of objects by the ratio of radioactive and stable carbon isotopes. Through sounding, it was established that the oldest walls of this city date back to the 8th millennium, that is, their age is approximately 10 thousand years. The sanctuary discovered as a result of excavations was even more ancient - 9551 BC. e.

There is no doubt that Jericho A, with its settled population and developed construction industry, was one of the first early agricultural settlements on Earth. Based on the many years of research carried out here, historians received a completely new picture of the development and technical capabilities that humanity had 10 thousand years ago. The transformation of Jericho from a small primitive settlement with miserable huts and huts into a real city with an area of at least 3 hectares and a population of more than 2000 people is associated with the transition of the local population from simple gathering of edible cereals to agriculture - growing wheat and barley. At the same time, researchers have established that this revolutionary step was taken not as a result of some kind of introduction from the outside, but was the result of the development of the tribes living here: archaeological excavations of Jericho showed that in the period between the culture of the original settlement and the culture of the new city, which was built at the turn 9th and 8th millennia BC e., life here did not stop.

At first, the town was not fortified, but with the advent of strong neighbors, fortress walls became necessary to protect against attacks. The appearance of fortifications speaks not only of the confrontation between different tribes, but also of the accumulation by the inhabitants of Jericho of certain material values that attracted the greedy gaze of their neighbors. What were these values? Archaeologists have answered this question as well. Probably, the main source of income for the townspeople was barter trade: a well-located city controlled the main resources of the Dead Sea - salt, bitumen and sulfur. Obsidian, jade and diorite from Anatolia, turquoise from the Sinai Peninsula, and cowrie shells from the Red Sea were found in the ruins of Jericho - all of these goods were highly valued during the Neolithic period.

The fact that Jericho was a powerful urban center is evidenced by its defensive fortifications. Without the use of picks and hoes, a ditch 8.5 m wide and 2.1 m deep was cut into the rock. Behind the ditch there was a stone wall 1.64 m thick, preserved to a height of 3.94 m. Its original height probably reached 5 m. and above there was a masonry of mud bricks.

The stone tower of Jericho was probably built at the beginning of the 8th millennium BC. e. and lasted for a very long time. When it ceased to be used for its intended purpose, crypts for burials began to be built in its internal passage, and the former storage facilities were used as dwellings. These premises were often rebuilt. One of them, which died in a fire, dates back to 6935 BC. After this, archaeologists counted four more periods of existence in the history of the tower, and then the city wall collapsed and began to erode. Apparently, the city was already deserted at this time.

The construction of a powerful defensive system required an enormous amount of labor, the use of a significant workforce and the presence of some kind of central authority to organize and direct the work. Researchers estimate the population of this first city in the world to be two thousand people, and this figure may be underestimated.

What did these first citizens of the Earth look like and how did they live? An analysis of the skulls and bone remains found in Jericho showed that 10 thousand years ago, short people - just over 150 cm - with elongated skulls (dolichocephalians), who belonged to the so-called Euro-African race, lived here. They built oval-shaped dwellings from lumps of clay, the floors of which were recessed below ground level. The house was entered through a doorway with wooden jambs. There were several steps leading down. Most houses consisted of a single round or oval room with a diameter of 4–5 m, covered with a vault of interlocking rods. The ceiling, walls and floor were covered with clay. The floors in the houses were carefully leveled, sometimes painted and polished.

The inhabitants of ancient Jericho used stone and bone tools, did not know ceramics and ate wheat and barley, the grains of which were ground on stone grain grinders with stone pestles. From rough food, which consisted of cereals and legumes ground in stone mortars, these people's teeth were completely worn out. Despite a more comfortable habitat than that of primitive hunters, their life was extremely difficult, and the average age of the inhabitants of Jericho did not exceed 20 years. Infant mortality was very high, and only a few lived to be 40–45 years old. There were obviously no people older than this age in ancient Jericho.

The townspeople buried their dead right under the floors of their homes, wearing iconic plaster masks with cowrie shells inserted into the eyes of the masks on their skulls. It is curious that in the oldest graves of Jericho (6500 BC), archaeologists mostly find headless skeletons. Apparently, the skulls were separated from the corpses and buried separately. The cultic beheading is known in many parts of the world and has been practiced down to our time. Here, in Jericho, scientists apparently encountered one of the earliest manifestations of this cult.

During this “pre-ceramic” period, the inhabitants of Jericho did not use earthenware - they replaced it with stone vessels, carved mainly from limestone. Probably, the townspeople also used all kinds of wickerwork and leather containers like wineskins. Not knowing how to sculpt pottery, the ancient inhabitants of Jericho at the same time sculpted animal figures and other images from clay. In residential buildings and tombs of Jericho, many clay figurines of animals were found, as well as stucco images of the phallus. The cult of masculinity was widespread in ancient Palestine, and its images are found in other places.

In one of the layers of Jericho, archaeologists discovered a kind of ceremonial hall with six wooden pillars. It was probably a sanctuary - a primitive predecessor of the future temple. Inside this room and in its immediate vicinity, archaeologists did not find any household items, but they found numerous clay figurines of animals - horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs and models of male genital organs.

The most amazing discovery in Jericho was the stucco figurines of people. They are made from local limestone clay called "hawara" with a reed frame. These figurines are of normal proportions, but flat in front. Nowhere, except for Jericho, have such figurines been encountered by archaeologists before. Life-size group sculptures of men, women and children were also found in one of the prehistoric layers of Jericho. They were made using cement-like clay, which was spread on a reed frame. These figures were still very primitive and flat: after all, plastic art was preceded for many centuries by rock paintings or images on cave walls. The figures found show how much interest the inhabitants of Jericho showed in the miracle of the origin of life and the creation of a family,” this was one of the first and most powerful impressions of prehistoric man.

The emergence of Jericho, the first urban center, indicates the emergence of high forms of social organization. Even the invasion of more backward tribes from the north in the 5th millennium BC could not interrupt this process, which ultimately led to the creation of highly developed ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Middle East.

On this day:

Days of death
1886 Died Friedrich Samoilovich Bayern- Russian naturalist and archaeologist, researcher of the Samtavra burial ground in the Caucasus.
1960 Died: Leading English archaeologist of the first half of the 20th century; led excavations of material culture monuments of Sumer, Ancient Egypt, Syria, Nubia, ancient Anatolia, explorer Ur.
1963 Died Konstantin Mikhailovich Polikarpovich- Belarusian Soviet archaeologist, founder of the study of the Stone Age in the Upper Dnieper region.

Although determining the exact age of ancient settlements is not the same simple task for science, as it seems at first glance, a number of cities are known today, which scientists call the oldest on the planet.

The history of the ancient city of Jericho begins in the 9th millennium BC. e., when traces of the first human habitation were discovered here. Located 30 km from Jerusalem, Jericho was mentioned more than once in gospel events. The mention in the Bible brought Jericho religious fame and later attracted crowds of scholars who wanted to document the biblical chronology. According to some archaeologists, Jericho is the oldest excavated city in the world, dating back some 6,000 years of almost continuous occupation. The signs at the entrance to the city, which read: “The most ancient city in the world,” are also in a hurry to declare this. In addition, the city is more than 200 m below sea level, making it one of the lowest in the world.

On the Lebanese coast Mediterranean Sea from the ancient state of Phenicia, the center of which is located in modern Lebanon, the ancient city of Byblos has survived to this day, which is often referred to as the oldest city on the planet. IN ancient times Byblos was known as one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean, through which papyrus was exported from Egypt to Greece. During the era of wars, the city was not spared by any of the conquerors of the ancient world, leaving fortress walls, amphitheaters, temples and colonnades in memory of themselves. Today Byblos is a small fishing town in northern Lebanon with a population of 20,000 people, which retains an ancient harbor with stone walls and towers, a Roman amphitheater, stone wells with sarcophagi of rulers and the ruins of Hellenic temples. The central square of the city is decorated with the ancient Egyptian Temple of the Obelisks, built almost 4,000 years ago.

A number of cities in neighboring Syria also vie for the title of the oldest on the planet. The country's largest city by population, Aleppo, was first mentioned in the 3rd millennium BC. e. as the capital of the ancient Semitic state of Ebla. Over the course of its history, more than a dozen conquerors from Alexander the Great to Tamerlane passed through the city, leaving their traces on the appearance of Aleppo. Due to its strategic location on the Silk Road, Aleppo attracted many traders from all over Asia. The Al Madina covered market in the old city has survived to this day, which is the world's largest historical market with a length of almost 13 km. The market, along with the old city area and the famous Aleppo Citadel - a medieval fortress from the 10th century - is listed World Heritage UNESCO.

The city of Susa in southwestern Iran is another contender for the title of the oldest in the world. It gained fame as the capital of the ancient state of Elam, which existed on the territory of Iran from the 3rd millennium BC. After the fall of Elam, the city became first the seat of the Assyrians, and then Persian kings. Currently, Susa is a small city with a population of 60,000 people. Despite its significant cultural and historical heritage, the city is famous not for the ruins of the ancient palace of the Elamite kings, but for the fortress built by French archaeologists in the late 1890s, which ensured their safety and the safety of their finds.