One of the oldest fortified cities in the ancient Near East, long identified with Tell es-Sultan, 6 miles north of the Dead Sea, about 750 feet below sea level. The plentiful supply of water from nearby Ain es-Sultan turned Jericho into an oasis, and indeed the Bible once refers to it as the ‘city of palm trees’. Tell es-Sultan rises 65 feet above the surrounding plain and occupies an area of 10 acres. After Joshua had sent two spies to Jericho (Josh. 2:1 ff.) the Israelites crossed the Jordan