In Joshua chapters 2-6, we read a now familiar story about the Israelite siege of Jericho. In it, we find a supernatural victory given to Israel by God over a city, the walls of which fall in an instant. The verification of an army coming into Jericho at the time described by the Bible (around 1400 B.C.) was supported by the findings of British archaeologist John Garstang in the 1930s. However, excavations later led by Kathleen Kenyon dated the destruction of Jericho before Israel would have come into the land according to the Bible (around 1550 B.C.) so there wouldn’t have been a city to conquer at the time Israel entered the land. This casted serious doubts on the biblical narrative by those who followed her conclusions (which, in this case, would be a significant amount of liberal Bible scholars and archaeologists).
One might wonder why Garstang would date the destruction of this city at right around the biblical time frame, and why Kenyon would date it so much earlier. I would like to discuss some of the reasons for this, as well as look at some of the circumstantial evidence for the biblical account. As archaeology is not my field (nor a field I am extremely knowledgeable about even as a hobby), I may make mistakes due to my lack of knowledge. If I make any such mistakes that the reader is aware of, please let me know. I also encourage you to read through other sources. This is simply an introduction to this issue to get you started doing your own reading and thinking on this issue. The sources I used to write this blog are listed at the bottom of the page.
Garstang’s conclusions which supported the biblical timeline were based on (among other things) pottery found in the debris and scarabs from nearby tombs which commemorated Egyptian pharaohs whose reigns we can pinpoint to specific time periods, and which end around the time that Israel is said by the Bible to have conquered the city.
Kenyon did not give an analysis of her findings in her excavation reports (which were published after her death), so those who would like to find her reasoning for the date she gives appeal to comments she had made elsewhere. It is based on these comments that many come to the conclusion that her dating was based almost exclusively on the absense of a type of imported Cypriote pottery which was common in the time period of 1550-1400 B.C. Since she did not find the pottery which she felt was typical of this time period, it was clear to her that the city must have been destroyed BEFORE said time period.
It is the conclusion of those who hold to the biblical dating scheme that Kenyon over-emphasized the absense of such pottery, or ignored other evidence which would support a later date. Since both Kenyon and Garstang dug in an area of Jericho which was poor, the pottery she was expecting to find (which was more exotic) would not likely be found. It would be like searching for an expensive big screen television manufactured in 2005 in order to date a poorer section of New York City, and then coming to the conclusion that because this television wasn’t found, the section excavated must date to before 2005. Of even more significance, Garstang did discover this type of pottery at the site of his dig, but didn’t understand the significance of it, as Kenyon later did. The section of Kenyon’s dig was further north, away from where Garstang had found the Cypriot biochrome ware.
What is most interesting to me, however, is the circumstantial evidence that links this site to the destruction of Jericho described in the book of Joshua. For instance, both Garstang and Kenyon discovered large quantities of grain stored up. This is odd because in ancient times starvation sieges, where a city was blocked in by an invading army until they were out of food, were very common. However, Jericho didn’t fall like this. The presence of so much grain indicates that Jericho fell very quickly. Not only that, but the invaders obviously didn’t take the grain, which syncs nicely with the biblical account. “Keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction,” we read in Joshua 6:18. The major details also correspond. The walls were leveled, as we read in Joshua 6:20, and the city was burned, as we read in Joshua 6:20. These details correspond quite well with the account we read in Joshua. This, along with Garstang’s work which suggests that Jericho fell right around the time the Bible claims Israel invaded, gives us good reason to trust the biblical account.
Sources used and recommended–